Bleeding Love
by toastmania
Summary: Quinn won't let him take care of his baby, so Puck looks for someone else to protect...
1. Chapter 1

**Rating: T for language, it may go up later**

**Pairing: Puck and Rachel**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any of the characters, yadda,yadda,yadda**

**I love the Puck and Rachel paring. This is my first fanfiction ever, but it had to be written and to be honest its kind of writing itself. Constructive criticism is welcome and greatly appreciated.**

**Ch. 1**

_**Closed off from love I didn't need the pain. Once or twice was enough and it was all in vain…**_

Noah Puckerman sighed as he lay stretched out on the floor backstage in the school auditorium. He had been hiding out here for the past forty minutes listening to Rachel Berry sing her way through the vast repertoire of songs at her command. As much as Puck hated to admit it, he loved Rachel's voice. It had a soothing quality about it that made him feel better no matter how crappy his day had been. Today had been an exceptionally crappy day.

Santana kept showing up everywhere, obviously for the express purpose of making his life hell. Why wouldn't she leave him alone? She broke up with him for a totally bogus reason and now she seemed to take an evil delight in rubbing his nose in the fact that the she already had a new boyfriend. He often wondered how he had fallen for a girl who was so obviously the spawn of Satan. _Her name should have been Satantana, he thought_. Ugh.

Then, he had tried to talk to Quinn about the whole baby situation again. He wanted his baby. He loved it already and wanted to take care of it. But Quinn was being such a bitch. She wouldn't even let him finish talking before she began berating him. The word 'loser' had been thrown at him in so many variations that he had lost count. Plus she had gotten it into her head that he was trying to use his baby as leverage to get with her. As if. Puck really didn't like Quinn all that much, and there was no way on earth that he'd ever want to be with her. If it weren't for the baby, Puck would have steered clear of the ice princess completely. Instead, one drunken night full of irritation towards his best friend and some very bad judgment had tied him to her forever. Lord help him.

He really resented her telling him that he would never be any good for his own child. That was such crap. He wouldn't rest until his kid had a loving, safe environment – Quinn or no Quinn. He would always make sure that his child was provided for and loved. With an irritated sigh, he opened his eyes and realized that something was wrong. Rachel wasn't singing anymore. Instead a very loud and angry voice had taken its place. A voice that Puck recognized.

Pulling himself to a standing position, he crept towards the wings and peered beyond the curtains. Finn was standing in the middle of the stage shouting at Rachel. As Puck's brain registered what his best friend was saying, his blood started to boil.

"You know Rachel, this isn't my fault! I don't want to be in this situation! I don't want a kid; I just want a normal life. And you! You're not making this any easier for me! You walk around all day with your shiny hair and perfect smile and make me want to kiss you. And I can't! Because I now have responsibilities that I don't even want!"

_Responsibilities he didn't even want? So what, now this innocent baby was a burden?_ Puck was fuming. And what the hell was with Finn? He was with Quinn, who was pregnant, and it wasn't enough for him? He wanted Rachel, too? The bastard! Ok, so maybe this mess wasn't of Finn's making, but Finn didn't know that. And on top of that, he was taking everything out on Rachel. She was standing in the middle of the stage looking at the floor with her arms wrapped around herself, like she deserved the wrath that was pouring out at her.

As Puck stood seething at the side of the stage he shut his eyes and though hard. _'Ok'_, he decided, '_so Quinn won't let me take care of my own baby right now. Fine. There are other people that I can take care of to prove to myself and her that I'm not a loser. Like Rachel. She needs someone to take care of her and protect her from the assholes in this school. Starting right now.'_

Puck's eyes snapped open and he strode towards the middle of the stage where Finn was still yelling at Rachel. "Finn," Puck's voice carried across the stage surprising Finn into silence, "I think you need to leave now."

"What? No, I'm not leaving…"Finn sputtered

"I said, I think that you need to leave now." Puck planted himself between Rachel and Finn.

Puck saw the anger draining out of Finn. "Yeah, you're right. Just let me apologize…"

Puck glanced back at Rachel and saw that he shoulders were beginning to quiver. "No. I think you need to leave _right now_."

"Yeah, alright," With one last glance at Rachel, Finn turned away deflated, and made his way out of the auditorium.

Watching Finn leave, Puck was suddenly terrified. Maybe he should have thought this plan through a little more. Now he was left here alone with Rachel. A Rachel who was starting to sob. Shit. Shit. Double shit! He had never learned to deal with a crying girl. What was he supposed to do? He slowly turned towards her and took a deep breath. No use in trying to chicken out now after all of his resolve.

Puck reached out a hand and touched one of the arms that had wrapped protectively around herself. Rachel looked up at him and he could see the tears streaming down her face. Hoping that this was the best course of action he stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her. What was the worst that could happen? He supposed that she could slap, kick, and otherwise mistreat him for daring to touch her, but this was the only comfort that he could think to offer her at the moment.

Much to Puck's relief, Rachel didn't strike out at him. Instead she leaned her head on his chest and cried herself out. Puck just held onto her and breathed in her scent. He didn't know what shampoo she used, but she smelled really good. Finally she raised her head and looked at him with her big shiny eyes and whispered "Thank you."

Those eyes and her body pressed up against him were beginning to make him feel a bit lightheaded. _'Must be all the unfamiliar nobility'_ he thought to himself. To Rachel, all he could say was, "No problem."

Rachel moved out of his arms and towards the piano. She was making a serious effort to pull herself together and get back to normal. It was kind of cute.

"I really am grateful to you; Finn seemed to be having some sort of a meltdown and was saying some very hurtful things. It was good that you happened to come along when you did. What did bring you to the auditorium? It's not usually a place that you seem to frequent." She shot him a curious glance from under her eyelashes.

Oh. Yeah, how to explain that one. He couldn't exactly tell her that he came here specifically to hear her sing, and that it hadn't been the first time that he had hidden backstage to that he could listen to her. No way. That was way too embarrassing. "Um. Well, I was looking for you. To, uh, you know, see if you could help me with singing. And stuff. For Glee." _Well, shit. That was lame._ Luckily, Rachel didn't seem to notice.

"Help you with your singing? I'd be happy to," Rachel offered him a tentative smile. "You do have a very good voice and a lot of potential. With some work, you could be extraordinary."

"Yeah, well, I can't be a Lima Loser forever," Puck muttered under his breath.

"Pardon?" Rachel was looking at him with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Huh? What? Um, nothing. Just, uh…" God, could he sound anymore idiotic if he tried? Was this how it was going to be from now on? Stop being a jerk to Rachel and end of sounding like a raving lunatic instead? "What I mean is, do you have a ride home?"

"I was just about to call my dads to come pick me up."

"I could drive you. You know if you want." _Damn. Still idiotic._

"Oh. Well, yes. That would be very nice. Thank you, Puck." She flashed him a smile and he felt his stomach clutch.

"Yeah, well no problem since I was headed home anyway and…"_Stop it! Stop babbling!_ he ordered himself. What was wrong with him anyway? "Here let me help you with that," he grabbed her stack of books and sheet music, and practically ran for the door.

**Song: Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the kind reviews, they are very appreciated. **

**Shorter this time, but I hope you enjoy!**

**Ch.2**

_**Time starts to pass, before you know it you're frozen….**_

Puck was standing at his locker waiting for Rachel to show up. He'd gotten here extra early to make sure that he could keep an eye on her. He knew that she usually had two potential shushie attacks every day. He was responsible for one, but if he was off his game that day Cliff from the baseball team would take care of business. Since he wouldn't be throwing cold frosty beverages at Rachel anymore, he needed to make sure that Cliff started to keep his slush to himself.

Finally he saw her walking through the front doors. Puck found himself smiling a little and immediately tried to wipe it off his face. He was supposed to be protecting her from the school bullies, not becoming bff's with the girl. Still, he found himself intercepting her as she passed his locker.

"Hey Berry, wait up…"

"Oh, hello Puck. You're here early this morning." Rachel eyed him a bit nervously. _Probably looking for a hidden slushie_, Puck thought huffily. He knew she had no reason to trust him, but it still irritated him. He was trying to do a good thing for her for God's sake. For partially selfish reasons, but still!

"Yeah, well I was thinking we would maybe get in some practice or something before school starts or something. You know, if you're up for it, because I really wanted to get started and…" _Shit. Doing it again. Was he so off his game that making simple conversation with a girl was impossible?_

Rachel was just looking at him with her head cocked to one side looking like she was trying to keep from smiling. "I'm always up for practicing. Let me put my books away and I'll meet you in the choir room."

"Yeah, ok," Puck headed for the room before he could begin blathering again. _When had conversation with the opposite sex become so difficult for him?,_ he asked himself as he slumped into a chair_. Probably about the same time that he had given up on love and romance and decided that meaningless affairs with cougars were the way to go,_ he decided with a sigh. Thankfully Rachel walked into the room then and put a stop to Puck's introspection.

*************************************************************************************

"Well, I think we've made some progress thing morning," Rachel turned to him with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess," Puck was trying to keep the words to a minimum. "Headed to history?"

"Yes," Rachel frowned a bit. He knew she was thinking about the slushie attack that usually took place on her way to her first class. _She probably thinks I'm about to set her up. Typical. I'm not always an ass. Just usually._ Puck swallowed his annoyance, knowing full well he didn't deserve the benefit of the doubt. He could look out for her without her trusting him. It would just be a bit more difficult.

"Great, me too." He waited for her to exit the room before he followed. They were walking silently down the hallway together. He was wracking his brain for a topic of conversation, anything to end the awkward silence, but nothing was coming to mind. Puck was so lost in thought that he almost didn't see Cliff with the slushie cup until he was only a few steps away from them. _Well, no stopping him now_, Puck thought as Cliff raised his arm. He reached over to Rachel with one arm and pushed her back while he stepped in front of her.  
And took the slushie right to the face.

*************************************************************************************

Puck was changing his shit in the locker room when he heard someone behind him. He spun around and saw Cliff standing there.

"Dude. Sorry. I was totally aiming for Berry. What were you doing walking with that freak anyway?"

Puck pulled his shirt over his head and shut his locker shut with out replying. He stared at Cliff for a moment before his hand shot out and slammed Cliff against the bank of lockers.

"I'm only going to say this once, so listed closely," Puck growled, "No one will be throwing slushies or anything else at Rachel. You don't talk to her, you don't look at her, and you don't think about her. If you do I will rip out your throat. You got me?"

Cliff attempted to nod, eyes huge and terrified.

"Good. I trust you'll spread the word. The next person to mess with her is a dead man." Puck let go of Cliff and shoved him towards the door. As he watched Cliff run out of the room, he sat down on the bench and sighed. This really hadn't been the best way to start off the day, but he really had no one to blame but himself. He was the one who started dousing Rachel everyday. Now he was just going to have to fix his mistake.

Puck stood up and made his way out of the locker room. Rachel was waiting outside for him. He stopped and they faced off for a moment before Rachel spoke up.

"Why?"

How could he answer that question? He wasn't sure he understood himself. Partly because he wanted to show Quinn he could be good for his kid. Partly because he promised himself he would protect her. Partly because he had seen how easily hurt she could be. Partly because he wanted to be a better man. Partly because she didn't treat him like crap even though he had been mean to her for so many years.

"Let's just say I'm trying to make up for some things." Lame answer, but it's all he could trust himself to say.

Rachel looked like she wanted to question him more. But she didn't. She just turned and said over her shoulder, "I'll walk you to class."

Puck nodded and fell into place beside her.

**Song: Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ch. 3**

_**But something happened for the very first time with you… **_

Puck was walking towards the choir room after football practice. He and Rachel had been working on his singing almost every day for the past two weeks. To his surprise, Puck was starting to enjoy it, and his voice was really improving. Also, he was really enjoying spending time with Rachel. He would never admit it to her or anyone else, but it was true. Yeah, she was still bossy and prissy. But she was also smart, talented, funny and fun to hang around.

The fun to hang around part was a relief, because he'd been doing a lot of that recently. He had to – he needed to make sure that the warning he'd given Cliff had made its way to the appropriate parties. And it had, for the most part. He'd beaten a few people up for saying nasty things to her, and had to issue a few more death threats, but the guys were backing off and being civil towards her.

The girls were proving more of a challenge. They were still being complete bitches. The problem was that he couldn't threaten a girl and he certainly wasn't about to hit one of them either. He'd have to keep thinking on that one. Maybe Brittany could help. He knew that Rachel and Britt got along pretty well when Santana wasn't around. She might have some insight into the girl psyche.

He heard voices coming from the choir room as he approached. Frowning, Puck moved closer. He recognized Finn's voice. Damn. Why couldn't he leave Rachel alone? Every time Finn talked to her, Rachel ended up sad. Puck couldn't stand the heartbreaking look in her eyes. It looked like he was going to start protecting her from his best friend as well as from the jackasses who populated the school. Crap.

He turned around and headed back down the hall a ways, then turned around and headed back to the room making as much noise as he could. When he got to the door Finn was looking at him in annoyance and Rachel was looking relieved. "Puck, what are you doing here?" Finn opened his eyes wide and gestured towards the door, trying to get rid of his friend.

"He's here so we can work," Rachel spoke before Puck could say anything. "So, if you'll excuse us, Finn, we really should start."

"Rachel," Finn grabbed her arm before she could cross to the piano. "We _really_ need to talk…."

"Sorry, Finn. It will have to keep until a more convenient time. Besides, isn't Quinn waiting for you?" Rachel replied softly.

"Yeah. I guess we'll do this later," Finn's disappointment was palpable, but he exited the room after giving Puck a halfhearted wave.

Rachel cleared her throat and looked up at Puck. "Ready to get started?"

Puck's breath caught as he saw the pain in her eyes. She was hurting so much that Puck's heart ached for her. "How about if we ditch practice just this one time and go somewhere?"

Rachel seemed to consider this for a moment before replying, "Where would we go?"

"It's a surprise. Consider it a thank you for all the help that you've been giving me." Puck picked up his bag and hers before ushering her to the door. "Trust me. You're gonna love it."

*************************************************************************************

"Isn't this the old drive through?" Rachel asked as Puck pulled through the gate and into the deserted lot.

"Yeah. I come here a lot. To get away from things, to think. You know." He pulled his truck through to the projection unit. He got out of the truck and opened the side and began to hook up some wires.

"What are you doing?" Rachel scooted to the driver's side to get a better view.

"I've been coming here for a few years, but a last year I found a few movies that the owners left behind and I fixed the projector so that I could have some entertainment to go with my solitude." Puck glanced at her before resuming work.

"Really? What movies did they leave?" She asked curiously.

Shutting the unit back up he replied, "Let's see…Casablanca, And Affair to Remember, Sound of Music, and the movie that we will be watching tonight."

"Which would be?" Rachel's eyebrows rose inquiringly.

"It's a surprise. But trust me, you're gonna love it."

"So I keep hearing. I'll be reserving judgment until I find out what it is." She scooted back over to the passenger seat looking skeptical.

Puck just grinned and started up the projector. He drive to the nearest space and turned on the volume. They sat watching the screen until the opening strains of music started. When she recognized what it was, Rachel let out a squeal and bounced in the front seat.

"Oh, Puck! West Side Story! How did you know?"

Puck rolled his eyes and replied "Only someone blind and deaf wouldn't know that this is your favorite movie."

They sat smiling at each other for a moment before sitting back to enjoy the movie.

*************************************************************************************

They had been watching Tony and Maria for a while when Puck became aware that it was quite a bit cooler than it had been when they pulled into the drive in. Rachel was curled in a ball rubbing her arms. She had to be freezing.

"You cold?" He whispered.

"A little," was the reply.

"Scoot over here," Puck said as he turned to root behind the seat of the truck. He stopped and looked up when he realized that she hadn't moved.

"I'm not looking for a hatchet to murder you," he said exasperated. "C'mere."

He reached back once more and came up with his letterman's jacket as Rachel moved over to him. He draped the jacket over her shoulders and watched as she slipped her arms into it. Watching her sitting there in his jacket, which was several sized too big, was making him feel very odd. He was feeling protective and affectionate and a little turned on. _Damn it. Totally inappropriate_.

He shook his head and started to button the jacket waiting for the feelings to dissipate. When they didn't he couldn't help but slide his arm around her shoulders. _Just to keep her warm though, that's it_ he told himself sternly. When she snuggled closer to him and leaned her head on his shoulder his heart kicked up a few notches and he gulped. This would be the first time that West Side story was playing and he couldn't concentrate on it at all.

Puck and Rachel were both quiet as he drove her home after the movie finished. The silence wasn't awkward this time, as they had been when the pair began spending time together; this time it was a very comfortable one. Puck glanced over at Rachel and thought how ethereal she looked with the streetlights shining on her hair. Smirking a little at his sentimental thoughts, he glanced over at her again. This time she was looking at him and smiling. A small private smile that made his heart beat a little faster.

"What?" He smiled back at her.

"I was just thinking that you really have surprising depth, Noah Puckerman. I know that you shared something very special with me tonight and I want you to know how touched I am. Thank you."

Puck felt himself get choked up. All he could do was nod as he pulled up in front of her house. He hopped out of the truck before she got the seat belt undone and opened the door for her and held out his hand. Rachel looked a bit surprised but took the hand that he offered as she got out of the truck. Puck grabbed her bag and walked her to the front door, still holding her hand.

Rachel turned to face him when they reached the door and began to take off his jacket.

For some reason, Puck didn't want to see her take it off. "Keep it for a while. It's starting to get cold."

"Ok. Thank you," Rachel's voice was almost a whisper.

Before he could stop himself, Puck leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. He leaned back and saw her looking at him, slightly amazed. He turned and headed back to his truck, heart pounding yet again. _If I don't stop this I'm gonna give myself a heat attack before I turn seventeen,_ he thought wryly as he drove away.


	4. Chapter 4

**Once again, thanks for all the reviews. They are much appreciated. Can't wait for tonight's eppy. Fingers crossed for lots of Puck/Rachel goodness!**

**Ch.4**

_**My heart melted to the ground, found something true…**_

Puck was going over his mental checklist as he pulled into his driveway. Yard work done: check. House cleaned: check. Grocery shopping done: check. Homework finished: check, sorta – except history. He just needed to make dinner before his mom got home and get some vocal practice done for glee and he'd be finished. Except for that stupid history homework.

Puck realized that most of the student body at McKinley thought he was a stupid, thoughtless jock who had nothing better to do with his time than play video games and drink beer. This couldn't be any farther from the truth, but he did nothing to correct their assumptions- actually he encouraged them by acting out the part whenever he could. He preferred the imaginary Puck. People wouldn't mess with that guy.

In reality, he busted his butt everyday to help his mom out as much as he could. She was a nurse at the local hospital and worked long hours for days at a time to make sure the bills were paid. She was currently finishing up her ninth day of working in a row, so Puck wanted to be sure that she didn't have anything to worry about when she got home. He had turned down the offer of a keg party at Matt's to stay home with her tonight. He didn't tell the guys that, though. They thought that he had a serious booty call to attend to. Well, what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

As Puck got out of his truck and started gathering up grocery bags, he saw a familiar figure walking down the street a few houses up. Rachel. What was she doing here? Puck wasn't sure if he was happy to see her or annoyed that she seemed to always be around when his carefully crafted façade was slipping. Or maybe that façade slipped because she was around. _Just get the bags and go into the house. You need to keep school and home separate_, he told himself as he watched her getting closer.

"Berry!" _Damn it! What the fuck is wrong with me?_ Puck firmly ignored his brain and walked over to the sidewalk.

"Puck. Hello." Rachel had a slightly started look about her, and Puck realized that he had roused her from whatever she had been thinking about.

"What are you doing here? Don't you live over on Elm…" Puck's voice trailed off as Rachel sent him a withering look. Of course he knew where she lived; he and the football team had been egging her house for years. He kind of wondered how he had let himself become such and ass.

"Do you need help with that?" Rachel gestured at the bags he had set down.

"Uh…" He watched as she grabbed two of the bags from the ground and started walking towards his house. With no other choice presenting itself, he picked up the remaining bags and followed her. Rachel stepped aside as he unlocked the door and opened it. His four cats immediately materialized and began twining themselves around his legs with happy purrs.

He watched her raise her eyebrows. "Los of cats."

She looked like she couldn't believe that he would have something as normal as pets. Puck wasn't sure why that annoyed him so much, but it did.

"Yeah, well. It just kind of happened. They kept showing up," He replied gruffly, scooping up a very disreputable cat and carrying him and the bags to the kitchen, the other cats following joyfully at his heels.

Rachel followed him and stood watching as he put down the bags and started to feed the cats. He could feel her eyes on him, but she remained silent. He glanced up at her to see her staring at him as though she'd never seen him before. He was suddenly embarrassed and couldn't figure out why.

"You want something to drink?" Lame, but he needed to break the tension that was starting to build in his chest.

"Sure." Rachel bent down to pet the cats who were now gathered around her curiously.

Puck turned to the fridge and pulled out two bottles of water and handed her one. Then he started to unpack the grocery bags to start dinner. It seemed safer if he didn't look at her anymore.

"Do you need help?" Puck was startled to hear her voice so close behind him.

"Um, I'm just starting dinner for my mom…" his voice trailed off as she walked to the sink and began to wash her hands.

"Good. I make a fantastic salad." She held out her hand for the head of lettuce that he was holding.

_Ok, this will only be weird if I let it. _Puck handed the vegetables over and turned his attention to the pasta on the counter. He glanced over at Rachel and allowed himself a small smile. It was kind of nice to have her here.

*************************************************************************************

"Noah, I'm home!"

"Noah?" Rachel cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Shut up, Berry," Puck growled, but couldn't help smile at her.

Puck's mom made her way into the kitchen and gave her son a hug. "Honey, I told you that you don't need to clean the house. I'll take care of it. Oh, I didn't know you had company."

"Yeah. Uh, mom, this is Rachel. From school and glee." She was just leaving. It was what he meant to say. He swears. But what came out was, "She was just about to agree to stay for dinner."

He saw Rachel's eyes go wide as she almost chocked on the sip of water she had just taken. She stared at him for a second and he stared back, daring her to say no.

"It's very nice to meet you Mrs. Puckerman. I just need to check with my dad's first." Rachel pulled out her cell phone and excused herself from the kitchen.

"Pretty girl. Definitely classier than the usual bimbos you bring home." Mrs. Puckerman looked at her son with a raised eyebrow.

Puck just glared at his mother while she laughed.

*************************************************************************************

Puck lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. Tonight had been weird. But good. Ok, better than good. Dinner had gone really well. Rachel had asked his mom questions about her job and the hospital. His mom had told some funny stories about weird cases that had come through the ER.

After his mom had excused herself to go to bed, Rachel had helped him with the dishes. And when it looked like she might be getting ready to leave, he suggested that they should go hang out in the back yard for a while. Just so that she didn't think he was trying to get rid of her. It wasn't like he was dying for her to stay or anything.

As they walked into the living room so that Puck could grab Rachel a sweater, he realized that he might have made a mistake on this one. His school books were sitting on the coffee table.

Rachel arched a brow at him. "Noah Puckerman actually does homework? And on a weekend? Be still my heart," She walked over to the books, her eyes shooting up to him as she took a look at what the books actually were. He could practically read her thoughts. _Physics? Trig? Psychology? Those were classes that juniors and seniors took. __**Smart**__ juniors and seniors. Puck was only a sophomore. And he was Puck, the boy who regularly boasted about not having attended math in years._

"Did I step into a wormhole here, or are you actually an undercover genius?" Rachel's no nonsense look told him he was not bullshitting his way out of this one.

_Busted_, he thought. "Yeah, well definitely not a genius." He turned on his heel and headed towards the back yard.

"Oh, no you don't," Rachel was hard on his heels, "There is no way you are not going to explain this to me."

Puck flopped on the wicker bench by the back door and sighed. "Fine," he said handing her the sweater he still carried. He stayed silent as she slipped it on and sat beside him. "I'm smart, kind of. It's just easier to play dumb in that school. Except in history. I really am dumb in that subject. Happy now?"

"So all of those excuses about visiting the nurses office to get out of math and the cutting…."

"A cleverly crafted plan to keep people from discovering the truth. I go to class. Just not most of the classes they go to. If they think I'm napping in the nurse's office, they won't question why I'm not in Algebra with them." Puck couldn't help but smile a little. It had been a brilliant plan.

"That is complete genius," Rachel actually smiled at him. "Not that I completely understand why you can't just tell people. You are popular enough that it shouldn't make a difference. What about history, though?"

"History is my downfall. I hate it. It's so boring. And if I can't get my grades up in it, I can kiss any sort of academic scholarship goodbye." Puck was surprised when Rachel reached over to take his hand.

"I could help you. I'm pretty good in history." She smiled at him and scooted a little closer.

"You're just saying that so that I'll be forever in your debt, aren't you?" Puck swallowed as his heart kicked into that skippy-beat thing that it often did when Rachel was around.

"I'm saying it because you never quit surprising me, Puck. " Rachel smiled up at him. "Now, tell me what else you've been hiding from everyone all these years."

And he had. He didn't know why but once he started, he couldn't stop. She knew that his favorite ice cream was cookie dough, which he thought sounded totally girly; the names of his four cats; that he loved old Hollywood movies, and constantly watched TCM; that he started to play the guitar because he wanted to be just like his dad; how he wanted to major in engineering in college and work for NASA some day; how his father had left them; how he was so depressed after his father had left that he drank himself into a stupor and his mother had to rush him to the hospital; he told her about Santana and the cougars.

When he stopped talking he was kind of embarrassed. He had never told anyone most of these things. Rachel now knew things about him that Finn and his mom didn't even know. As if she sensed his embarrassment, Rachel started to talk. She told her dads, her family, her addiction to Super Mario Brothers, how sad and lonely and afraid she was sometimes.

Puck smiled as he remembered how they sat there holding hands in the chilly autumn air. He'd never felt so close to anyone in his life. Rachel pretty much knew everything about him. The real him, not the pretend person he was at school. The only thing he hadn't told her about was the baby. Puck sighed and rolled over. He wasn't sure how he would ever be able to explain that on to anyone, even Rachel.

**Song: Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, I'm calling shenanigans on tonight's episode. Couldn't they have given us a few episodes of Rachel/Puck goodness before taking it away? I'm holding on to the hope that this isn't the end of that relationship, though.**

**Ch.5**

**And everyone is looking 'round thinking I'm going crazy**

Up until today, Puck had not given any thought to what kind of gossip might be floating around the school about him and Rachel. When he had a plan he tended to execute it with a sing mindedness that was nothing short of extraordinary. The down side of this tended to be that he ignored other things until his plan was complete. He was beginning to suspect that this was the case with the Rachel situation.

Ok, well, to be fair, the only reason he noticed it now was because Mike and Matt had pointed it out to him.

"Dude." Puck looked up to see Mike planted in front of his locker. Matt was standing next to him. "We kinda wanted to let you know, since you don't seem to be aware."

"Yeah?" Puck pulled out his history book. He had a test today and he wanted to get there early so he could study a little more. The study sessions with Rachel were really paying off. She had a way of making the most dry and dusty of historical facts seem worthy of a five figure screen play deal.

"You know what they're saying about you and Rachel?"Matt seemed uncomfortable. That was odd. Matt was usually a pretty easy going guy.

"Can I say yes to you?"Puck's curiosity was peaked.

"People are saying that you're banging Rachel."Mike interjected again. "Dude, if you two have a thang, that's cool. We know Rachel's a cool girl, but you might want to do something before her reputation goes down like the Titanic. Or the Hindenburg." Puck just looked at them blankly.

"Have you been watching the History Channel again?" Matt punched Mike in the shoulder, trying to give Puck a minute to process.

"Maybe. Not really the point, though."Mike looked apprehensively at Puck.

"Why would people think that Rachel and I are doing it? Which we're not, by the way." Puck was really at a loss for words. He was starting to get angry though. Angry at the assholes in this school trying to cheapen the first real thing he'd felt in years.

"Yeah, we thought she had better taste than that," Matt smirked at him. "The why is that you two have been inseparable for the last two months. Finn's not talking to you. Santana's been giving you looks that should have you dead and buried by now. And you've noticed none of it." Mike nodded confirmation.

"She's probably the best friend I've ever had." Puck said it so softly that he wasn't sure Mike and Matt had heard.

"If you need us to bust a few heads, let us know. We'd be happy to oblige." Obviously they had heard if the show of solidarity was any indication.

"I may take you up on that offer." Puck offered them a small smile and they took off for class. Puck left for history with his mind racing furiously.

_Well fuck._

He had become totally wrapped up in Rachel. The talked in the hall between classes, sat together in Glee, rehearsed every day after school, studied together. She went to all his football games and he went with her to hang out with Kurt, Artie, Mercedes, and Tina. On nights that his mom worked, he went to her house for dinner and on nights his mom was home she was at his house. He could see how that might give people the wrong impression. It didn't mean that he didn't want to kill them for implying that she was easy. It was just understandable.

What was not clear was how he was going to deal with this. He knew he had Mike and Matt and most of the Glee club on his side. But Finn wasn't talking to him? When he stopped and thought about it, Finn had stopped giving him more than monosyllable answers around the time that Rachel ended up at his house the first time.

_Fuck fuck fuckity fuck._

It served him right for not paying attention and planning better. He would fix this, he just wasn't sure how. The one thing he knew for sure is that he was not giving up Rachel. This whole thing had started out as proving something to Quinn and himself, but it had turned into so much more. Rachel really had become his best friend. He would not give that up. Not ever. He was keeping her and the rest of the school could just go to hell.

***************** *********************** ************************* **************

"Are you ready?" Rachel was leaning down to glance at the notes that were sitting open on his desk.

"Huh? Wha?" Puck hadn't even heard her come in; he was so absorbed in imagining all the torture that would rain down on people's heads for the things they were saying about her.

"Earth to Puck. History test. Are you ready?" Rachel sat in the desk next to him and propped her chin on her hand. "You seemed ready yesterday during our study session, but test anxiety can strike at the oddest times. Although I'm aware that you are very intelligent and therefore probably not prone to test anxiety, but since this class gives you difficulties…"

"Rachel, shut up!" Puck's head was starting to swim.

"What?" Rachel looked at him, shocked.

"I said shut up. We need to talk." He needed to tell her before she started to hear snickers in the hallway, so he felt that she should forgive the harshness of his tone.

Rachel shook her head and kept staring at him. "No, not that part, the first part."

"Have we stepped into the twilight zone here? What are you talking about?" The swimming sensation in his head was getting worse.

"What did you call me?" She leaned towards him wearing the same exasperated expression she wore when she felt he wasn't trying hard enough in glee.

"Huh? I called you Rachel." _When had he started losing control of this conversation_, he wondered.

"Oh." Rachel folded her hands in her lap and just looked at him.

"Oh what?" He was really getting desperate to tell her so that he could come up with a plan of action.

"Nothing. Really. It's just that you always call me Berry. Never Rachel. I was just wondering why?" Hands were still folded in her lap and her eyes were glued to them as if her manicure held the answers to all the world's ills.

"I don't know. I guess, I just…" Not sure where he was going with his response, Puck decided to backtrack and tell her how he really felt. "You've got to know that you're my best friend, right?"

Rachel's eyes snapped up to his and he saw a suspicious shininess starting. "I wasn't aware, no. I knew that we have become friends, but your best friend? Really?"

"Don't get all teary eyed on me right now. It's just. You know. That's why." _Please, please don't let her cry,_ Puck was silently praying. If she started now, it would only get worse when she found out about the rumors.

"Ok. Was that what you needed to talk to me about?" Rachel cleared her throat and blinked back the tears that were threatening her mascara.

"No. Unfortunately. Something much worse." He figured the best way to say it was to just….well, say it.

"Oh. What is it? Are you alright?" Concern was started to replace the tenderness in her eyes.

"Are you aware that the entire student body thinks that we're sleeping together?" Just like pulling a band aid off. Definitely the best way.

"Yes. I've know that for a considerable amount of time," was the calm reply.

"WHAT?!?!?!" Realizing he was shouting, Puck attempted to modulate his voice before he attracted attention to their conversation. " Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, you didn't seem to be aware. And I don't want you to have to spend the rest of your high school career beating people up on my account." Rachel shrugged and continued to look at him.

"Come on Rachel….wait, what do you mean 'keep beating people up on you account'?" He was suspicious now. _She couldn't know. He'd been pretty discreet about the beat downs he'd handed out. Hadn't he?_

"Do you think I'm so dense that I haven't notices that a significant portion of the school has turned up hurt after making fun of me or throwing frosty beverages in my face? Clearly all indications point to you beating them up." Rachel was smiling at him, and chuckling a little at the fact that he was so taken aback by her perceptiveness.

"You know what? That's a subject for another time." Puck decided that he wasn't going to be distracted from the problem at hand. "Don't you care? People are trashing your reputation. They're saying you're easy….that…" He trailed off as he saw her shake her head.

"Puck, I actually don't care so much. People have said worse about me than I'm sleeping with the hottest guy on the football team. All the hurtful things that people say about me don't hurt so much any more because I'm not alone. I have Artie and Kurt and Tina and Mercedes and Britt and Mike and Matt. And most importantly, you. You can't protect me from everything forever, although I appreciate the effort. Eventually things will die down and someone else will be the subject of gossip. I think of it as good practice for when I become famous and my life becomes fodder for the tabloids." Rachel reached over and gave his arm a reassuring pat.

Puck couldn't help but smile at her. She was crazy. Completely crazy. And he loved that about her.

As he was about to turn back to his history notes, his heart jumped into his throat_. Did she call me the hottest guy on the football team?_

**************************** ***************************** **************************

Puck glanced over at Finn. They had finished football practice and were getting ready to leave for the day. He knew Rachel would be waiting on the bleachers for him, but he needed to settle things with Finn. He'd been letting the information that the whole school was gossiping about him and Rachel simmer for an entire week and he was close to the breaking point. He could ignore the fact that everyone was talking about him, if Rachel wanted him to. He just couldn't ignore the fact that his oldest friend was a part of it.

"So, do you want to tell me what crawled up your ass and died?" Puck started out conversationally.

Finn turned towards him angrily. "What the hell have you been doing with Rachel? "

"We've been hanging out. In case you haven't noticed, we're friends." Puck turned from his locker and slammed it shut.

"Friends with benefits, you mean?" Finn sneered at him. "You're not good enough for her. The only reason she would even look twice at you is because I'm with Quinn. You're such an asshole, taking advantage of her like that. "

Puck was really seeing red. Before he could think, he pulled back his fist and punched Finn square in the jaw. Finn fell back for a second and was stunned. Puck saw the rest of the team hastily slink out of the locker room. Clearly they didn't want to be tainted with glee scandal. Since it was just him, Finn, Mike, Matt and Kurt, Puck decided it was time for a little smack down.

Finally gathering himself, Finn flung himself at Puck and they were rolling on the ground throwing punches until Mike and Matt separated them. Kurt was grinning happily, thrilled to be in the midst of the scandal.

"Don't tell me I took advantage of her. You played her by getting her to rejoin glee." Puck was breathing heavily and straining to get back to Finn.

"You're a loser Puck. Why do you think someone like Rachel would waste her time with you? Just passing time until something better comes along." Finn was still just as mad as Puck and practically spat the words out.

"She's not you Finn. She doesn't do that to people. She's a better friend to me than you've been. I'm not giving her up no matter what you say. You're so busy believing bullshit rumors that you can't even see the truth. Rachel and I aren't sleeping together. What you're really pissed about is that I took her from waiting on the sidelines for you. You'll just have to get used to having one less person in the Finn Hudson fan club." He shook Matt off and glared at Finn. Finn glared right back.

Puck finally turned and stormed out. He knew that he hadn't been completely fair to Finn. Finn wasn't the only one who had been a bad friend. Puck was pretty sure that he would be awarded the worst friend ever award. But still. It stung to know that his former best friend thought he was a disgusting loser. That not only made not best friends but not friends at all. Puck sighed on his way across the field. He didn't notice Rachel until he almost walked right into her.

"Puck! What happened to you! Your eye!" Rachel grabbed his arm as he continued walking.

"Rachel, it's nothing. Just. Nothing." He slowed his steps and turned to face her.

"Have you been fighting again?" She was fluttering around him making distressed noises.

"Maybe." Anger was started to drain out of him and he didn't really feel like discussing this.

"Puck!" She looked appalled and he had to smile.

"Rachel, I couldn't help it." Maybe if he looked pathetic, she'd drop it.

"Who?" Okay, no such luck.

"Who what?" Maybe if he played dumb.

"We are not Abbott and Costello, now stop it. Who were you fighting with?" Now Rachel's fists were on her hips.

"Finn." Being best friends with Rachel Berry had taught Puck when to accept defeat. Like now.

"Finn? Why?" Rachel's hands dropped and she started at him wide eyed.

"He's been listening to gossip apparently." Yup. Anger definitely gone, and was not being replaced by sadness. Puck sighed.

"Finn does have a tendency to be a bit on the gullible side, but why was he…" Anger came back as Puck heard the disbelief in Rachel's voice.

"He thinks that I'm using you! That I'm a loser and he's jealous that you'd waste your time on me." Puck watched her closely to see some sign that she was pleased that Finn was jealous. What he saw was irritation as she guided him to a bench on the sidelines.

"You are not a loser. You are incredible. Talented, kind, funny, smart. Most defiantly not a loser." She put her hand up to his cheek and moved closer to him as he closed his eyes.

"Noah…"her voice was a whisper. His heart was beating at a mile a minute as she dropped a kiss underneath the cut below his eye. He kept his eyes closed and swallowed hard.

_Ok, so not supposed to be having these kinds of feelings about your best friend_.

Her hand skimmed his cheekbone and she rested her forehead against his, "Better?"

He opened his eyes to look straight into hers. He felt caught there, like a fly in amber. He nodded slightly and she smiled.

"Good. Maybe we should skip practice and just go to my house. We can watch West Side Story and if I'm not mistaken Dad and Daddy have laid in a supply of cookie dough ice cream." Rachel pulled back and pulled him to his feet.

Puck laughed and threw his arm around her shoulders. "You know me too well Rach."


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry this took so long, but I had some issues with this chapter. Also, it's ridiculously long but I couldn't bring myself to split it up. So, hope you all enjoy!**

**Ch.6**

**But I don't care what they say I'm in love with you**

Puck had been looking for his chance all day, now hunched at the corner of a bank of lockers he kept a sharp eye on the passing crowd. He had to talk to Quinn. He had to. He was so sick of lying to everyone. The truth about the baby had to come out. He had to tell Rachel. The words had been on the tip of his tongue for weeks, but he couldn't let himself come clean with Rachel without Quinn knowing. It didn't seem right.

_Finally_, he though as he saw her walking down the hall alone. He'd been afraid that Finn might have surgically attached himself the girl's side - he certainly hadn't given her any breathing room all day. Thank the lord he was gone now because Puck was not anxious to have this conversation in front of Finn quite yet.

"Quinn!" Puck darted out from behind the lockers and grabbed her wrist.

"What?!?!" Quinn practically fell over from shock.

"We need to talk." Puck put a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"Yeah, because that always works out so well for us." Quinn had stopped looking like she was about to have a heart attack and was glaring at him.

"I'm serious, we need t talk. Come here." He guided her into an empty classroom.

"This had better be good; I'm missing some serious lunchroom gossip here." Quinn flounced to a desk and sat on the top.

"It'll keep." Sighing Puck ran a hand over his head. He couldn't figure out a good way to start, so he figured he'd get right to the point. "Quinn, I've been trying really hard to change, to become the kind of man who can take care of my child. We have to tell everyone. I have to tell Rachel. She's my best friend and it's killing me to keep this secret. I'm not saying we have to be joined at the hip, but I just want a chance to take care of my baby. That's all. I love it so much all ready…"

"It's a girl," Quinn said softly. He thought he saw her expression soften for a moment. Then the cold icy anger was back.

"I thought I'd made it clear that I won't be linking myself or my daughter with a loser." Quinn spat at him as she hopped of the desk. "I don't care if this is killing you. I don't want any part of you. And let me explain this to you very clearly, so that this subject will never be opened again. If you tell anyone including Rachel that you are the father of this baby, I will tell everyone that you raped me."

Puck felt like she had sucker punched him in the stomach. "That's not true!"

"I know that, but do you think anyone will believe you? I'm a model of purity and you are a slime ball. If you tell anyone about this, you won't have a future. Coach Tanaka won't have a rapist on his football team. And Mr. Schuester would never want to subject me to the daily torture of seeing the boy who hurt me so badly every single day in Glee. For that matter principal Figgins won't want his school's reputation tainted. Expelled. Your pool cleaning business will fold. You'll be an outcast in Lima. All of your friends will be gone. Would Rachel even stand by you? And then there are the criminal charges. Do you know what they do to rapists in prison? I do, thanks to the Discovery Channel. Just think about that the next time you get the urge to confess."

With that she was gone.

Puck thought he might loose his breakfast. She was right. Who would believe him? No one. He was a slimy asshole who slept around.

He needed to see Rachel. His conversation with Quinn had made him feel dirty. Rachel would make him feel clean and whole again.

******************* ************************************ *****************************

Puck paused in the cafeteria doorway to locate her. There, sitting with Mercedes and Tina. Just looking at her steadied him. His hands were no longer shaking and he could breath easier.

He tried to hide his distress as he made his way to her. She'd want to know why he was upset and there was no way to explain to her.

"Ladies." Puck tried for a smirk, but it felt wrong and fake.

"Noah! " Rachel looked up with a thousand watt smile that melted a bit of the ice chunk that had seemed to form in his belly. "Sit. I was wondering where you were."

"I, uh, got a little held up. What's going on?"

"W-w-inter formal planning. I think Mercedes is trying to rival Patton with her strategic plan of action." Tina smiled at him and then rolled her eyes at Mercedes.

"Winter formal? Yeah, I forgot all about it." God, it was good to talk about something normal. He scooted a little closer to Rachel.

"I c-c-can't wait." Puck had to chuckle at how Tina was excitedly bouncing in her seat.

"Yeah, pretty much everyone is going." Mercedes told him, then directed her next statement at her other lunch companions. "And I'll have you know that proper planning is essential to a good dance experience." Mercedes paused and stuck her tongue out at Tina.

"Oh, yeah?" Puck shook his head at their antics. He was feeling a little better just listening to their harmless banter. "Who are you guys going with?"

"I'm going with Kurt, Artie is taking Tina, Matt is going with Santana and Mike is going with Britt. Oh and Finn and Quinn." Mercedes informed his as she pulled a notebook out of her backpack and began writing.

He noticed that Rachel was looking sad as she was poking her salad.

"Rachel." He laid his hand on her arm, just to get her attention. It really didn't have anything to do with reassuring himself after that horrible scene with Quinn.

"Yeah?" She looked over at him and he could see that her eyes were sad.

"Are you going?" Puck was trying to figure out what he could do to take that look out of her eyes. No matter how upset he was, it was a million times worse to see Rachel that way. He would do anything to erase that look.

"Well, Jacob asked me in his usual disgusting manner. And I declined. And threatened to take out a restraining order on him. So no, I guess not." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

_He was going to kill that kid_. He wasn't sure what to say to make her happy again, so he just said the first thing that came to mind. "I could take you if you want."

"Noah, really?" Her voice was breathless and her eyes were shiny. He was vaguely aware of Tina and Mercedes squealing across the table as Rachel launched herself at him and hugged him.

"Yeah, of course. It'll be fun." Puck couldn't help but laugh at her exuberance. It was easier than he thought it would be to lift her spirits. _If only everything else in life would work out so easily_.

Rachel's smile was brighter than the sun and he struggled to push his conversation with Quinn completely out of his mind. He would concentrate on Rachel. She would keep him sane. This girl had become his life preserver and he was going to hold on for dear life.

******************************* ******************************* *******************

"Rachel, go shopping with them, please? I think that otherwise they are going to drive me nuts." Puck had been listening to the girls talk about the dance and a planned shopping trip for the entire rehearsal. When they found out that Rachel was planning to skip out on the shopping trip to watch a movie with Puck they had protested. Loudly.

"Ok. I'll call you later?" Rachel shot him an apologetic smile.

"Yeah. I'll come over when you get back. We'll watch the movie then." Sighing, Puck watched as Mercedes, Tina and Britt hustled Rachel out of the choir room.

Thank God they were gone. He felt like his head was going to explode if he listened to one more second of their dance induced hysteria. Sill, this was Rachel's first dance, and he wanted to make it perfect for her. He was just going to need some help. He was an expert on seducing women, but not so much on romance. Not that he was planning on romancing his best friend, but girls thought things like that were important.

Puck was pretty sure that Rachel dreamed of going with Finn. She didn't talk about him much any more, but Puck knew that her crush was still there. Since she couldn't have the one thing that would make the dance perfect for her, Puck decided that he would make this night one she would never forget.

And here were just the people to help him, "Kurt! Artie!"

"Yes, oh mohocked one?" Kurt looked up from the sheet music he was putting away, and Artie looked up from his guitar.

"You are so weird Hummel. You're lucky I like you." Puck rolled his eyes at the shorter boy.

"Oh, yes. I thank my lucky stars every day." Kurt shot back with his hand on his hip.

"I need your help." Puck glanced over at Artie.

"Well, I'm intrigued." Artie rolled his chair over next to Kurt.

"Oh, pray tell. I am always available to help out a tall dark and handsome." Kurt clasped his hands under his chin and batted his eyelashes as Puck.

"I'm taking Rachel to the dance and I want things to be perfect for her." He looked between his two friends and saw them nod their agreement. Puck smiled. He was going to give Rachel the sort of perfect high school experience that everyone needs to have once.

********************** ********************************************** ****************

Puck was uncomfortable in the suit. Kurt picked it out to color to coordinate with Rachel's dress. Puck wasn't sure how he knew what Rachel was wearing to the dance but decided not to ask. Kurt's ways were mysterious and it was best not to inquire too closely into these things.

He looked down at the corsage that he had gotten for Rachel. Artie had helped with that one. Rachel's favorite flowers were calla lilies, so Puck had decided on those for the corsage. He and Artie had spent two whole hours at the florists, driving the woman behind the counter nuts as they argued over how the flowers should be arranged. He was surprised that they hadn't been thrown out. If Rachel didn't have a perfect high school dance experience, it would not be for lack of trying on their parts.

He needed to leave to pick her up soon, but his mother was so excited that she couldn't seem to stop talking.

"I'm glad you're going to the dance. It's time you had a night of fun for once instead of always worrying. I know that you were pretty much born an old soul, but you really need to lighten up some. You are only sixteen after all. Thank goodness you have Rachel as a friend; she's such a good influence on you. It's nice to hear you really laugh again." His mom was firing all this off as she dashed around the house trying to get ready for work.

"God, ma. You make me sound really pathetic." Puck checked his watch. "And you're going to be late!"

"Crap. Ok, have a good time and I want to see pictures. Love you honey." With that she was out the door and into her car.

Puck shook his head and gathered up his keys. It was time to go get Rachel.

******************* *************************** **********************************

Puck was standing in the foyer of Rachel's house talking with her dads. As a rule, parents hated Puck, but Rachel's parents loved him. They thought Puck could do no wrong and seemed delighted that he was friends with their daughter. Puck often wondered if they were delusional, but was happy that they had such a high opinion of him, since they were pretty cool guys.

He was just laughing at a joke that one of her dads had told when he glanced over to the steps and saw her walking down. The smile faded from his face and his heartbeat kicked up several notches. Dear God! Was she trying to kill him?

Rachel stood a bit self consciously at the bottom of the stairs. She looked at the ground and Puck couldn't tear his eyes away from her. As his eyes traveled down her body his heart beat even faster. She looked perfect from the top of that sexy updo, to the longs earrings that brushed her shoulders and the long dark blue strapless dress, down to her delicate silver sandals. The only fault that he could find was that since the dress was long there was no way he would get to see any of her amazing legs tonight. That thought abruptly left his head as she shifted slightly and he saw a slit in her dress that ran up to her mid thigh. OH MY GOD. He would kill any guy that looked at her tonight.

"Rachel….you look….breathtaking." He couldn't help but say it in a reverent voice and he didn't even care how much of a douche he sounded like.

"Do you really thing so?" she asked quietly and raised her eyes to meet his.

Puck had to make a real effort not to throw her over his shoulder and take her right back upstairs to show her how incredible she looked. He wouldn't let her up from the bed until they were both panting and satisfied and…. _Ok, so inappropriate_. He shouldn't be thinking thoughts like that. He was going to be a father and had to keep up his resolve to be a kinder, gentler, more responsible man. Or something like that. Ravishing his best friend was not going to help him achieve those goals. No matter how much he wanted to throw Rachel down and run his tongue…_Crap ok, back on topic_. He let out a breath that he didn't realize he'd been holding and smiled at her.

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it." He looked down and saw the corsage box that he was in imminent danger of crushing. "Oh, I brought this for you."

"Oh, Noah ! It's beautiful. My favorite." She walked over to him so that he could slide it onto her wrist. Oh, God. She smelled so good. He had to suppress a groan as he adjusted the corsage on her wrist.

"Ok, kids. Have a great time. And if you're too tired after the party, feel free to spend the night here. We don't want you to get into an accident on your way home tonight." Rachel's dad's smiled at him and Puck tried to smile back. He was going to have to get his hormones in check if he decided to take them up on that offer.

Rachel flashed one of her brilliant smiles at him and Puck swallowed hard. How was he going to keep his hands off her tonight?

**************** ***************************** **************************** **********

"Helloooooooooo beautiful people!" Kurt grinned and pulled Mercedes over to the door as Puck and Rachel entered. "My God! You two do clean up well."

"Yeah, you guys look pretty fly yourselves tonight." Puck smiled at the two. Who would have thought he'd become such good friends with the people in Glee?

"Did you expect any less?" Mercedes asked with a saucy wink.

"Touché. Anybody else here?" Puck looked around to see if any of there other friends were within sight.

"Matt and Santana are around somewhere and Artie and Tina are already inside. Oh, here come Mike and Britt." Kurt let out a wolf whistle as the couple walked through the door. "My, my, aren't we all just gorgeous tonight!"

"'Sup man?" Mike made a beeline for the group and Britt and Mercedes immediately began comparing shoes.

Puck inclined his head in the guy greeting and glanced over to Rachel, who had been uncharacteristically silent since they'd walked into the school. She looked slightly terrified.

"You ok?" Puck noticed that she had a death grip on her purse.

"Just wondering if someone was going to pull a Carrie on me tonight," She gave him a nervous smile.

"They'll have to go through me to do it," He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close. His heart was beating a mile a minute again as he dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

"Thanks." Again with the nervous smile. _He would kill anyone who even thought about ruining tonight for her._

"All right people let's do this thang!" Mercedes voice cut through his thoughts as the group moved towards the gym door.

Puck kept his arm around Rachel as they followed. "Don't worry so much. Everything is going to be perfect. I promise."

*************************** ********************************* ********************

"This is surprisingly fun." Rachel smiled happily at Puck from across the table.

"Didn't I tell you?" Puck smiled back at her. _God she is so beautiful_.

"It's so nice that everyone from Glee is here, too. Even Santana's being nice." She stopped to survey their friends who were all on the dance floor. "Artie and Tina are just such a cute couple."

Puck followed her gaze and saw Tina planted on Artie's lap and he wheeled them both around. His version of dancing. Puck couldn't help but be happy for his new friend, and at the same time wondering when he had turned into such a girl. A few months ago he wouldn't have cared if Artie was happy, but then again a few months ago he hadn't know how cool the other boy was.

"So, what do you say we dance? I mean it is kind of pointless to come to a dance and just sit around all night." Puck stood up and walked around table to where Rachel was sitting.

"Noah, you don't have to stay with me all night. There are plenty of girls that I'm sure would die happy if Noah Puckerman asked them to dance." She replied as she playfully batted his hand away.

Puck was suddenly annoyed and wasn't sure exactly why. "Rachel, I came to the dance with you. I don't want to go off and mack on some group of imaginary girls. I want to be with you. Unless that's your way of telling me to get lost so you can find someone better to dance with."

"That wasn't what I meant at all," Rachel sounded horrified at his interpretation of her comment. "I just don't want you to feel like you have to babysit me all night. I'd love to dance."

"Good." He held his hand out to her and smiled as she took it. Puck felt almost breathless as he led Rachel out to the floor. His heart was pounding yet again as he folded her into his arms and felt her head settle against his chest. He really hoped she didn't realize how literally he meant that he wanted to be with her tonight. _Never going to happen. She'd way to good for you Puckerman. Just be happy that she's your friend. _

His eyes swept the dance floor as he and Rachel danced. He spotted Finn and Quinn on the other side of the room and felt his heart sink. He was still so angry that Quinn was going to keep his away from his baby girl. It just wasn't fair: he couldn't have his daughter and he would never be good enough for  
Rachel to see him as anything other than a friend. But then he had always had a talent for wanting things that he couldn't have.

************************** ******************************************** ************

"Wow." Brittany breathed as she clutched Mike's hand.

"I'll see your 'wow' and raise you a 'heavens to betsy'" Mike replied.

"You have b-b-been spending too much time around Kurt, Mike," Tina opined.

The group of friends had been watching Puck and Rachel dance for the last ten minutes.

"I resent that remark, but I'll be darned if that's not the most intense thing that I've ever seen in my life." Kurt couldn't tear his eyes away from the couple.

"Yeah, I've never seen two people fall in love right in front of my eyes."Mercedes shook her head. "We are going to have to give those two a helping hand because you know they are too stupid to do anything about it on their own."

The others nodded their agreement and kept watching as Puck and Rachel held each other oblivious to the rest of the world.

*************** ********************************* *********************** ***********

"That was just so much fun! The dance was so perfect and the after party at Mike's?" Rachel was dancing around her bedroom. "Unreal! Although, if I didn't know better, I'd think that Mercedes, Tina and Britt had crushes on you. They kept talking about how good you looked tonight and how perfect we looked together. Which we do. Look perfect together, I mean." Rachel seemed to get flustered all of a sudden and couldn't tear her eyes away from her hair brush.

"This has been the most perfect night ever. Thank you." She looked up and began walking towards him.

Puck had been laughing at her antics, but the laughter died on his lips as she drew close to him. He had really tried hard all night to get himself under control but Rachel had him close to the breaking point. He'd hugged her and touched her a million times since they'd become friends, but his longing to kiss her and really _touch_ her was starting to spin out of control. He'd always thought she was beautiful and he'd always been a bit attracted to her, but now…..it was just different.

Rachel stood on her toes and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. She was so close and he felt like his entire body was on fire. He couldn't even draw in a normal breath. _Would it be so bad if I just… Yes, it would be bad. Stop it right now._

"No need to thank me gorgeous." He stepped back and put some much needed distance between them. "I should probably get home."

"Noah, don't be ridiculous. My dad's told you that you could stay here tonight. There's no reason to drive all the way home." Rachel stood pouting with her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, but they said that before they considered that your guest room was under construction. And I can tell you from experience that your couch isn't all that comfortable to even nap on. I can only imagine the torture if I tried to sleep on it all night." Puck felt slightly relieved that he had come up with such a good excuse. He couldn't tell her that he wouldn't trust himself to stay here tonight given the thoughts that had been running through his head.

"I know. That's why you are going to sleep in here with me." She smiled happily and began unpinning her hair.

"Rachel, I don't think that's a good idea. Your dad's…"

"Won't mind a bit. It was their idea." Puck started to shake his head as Rachel turned around and looked at him with her big shiny eyes. "Noah, please? Tonight has been so perfect. I want it to keep being perfect. Please stay with me?"

Damn. He couldn't deny her anything that she wanted. Especially when she looked at him like that.

"Fine. Let me go get my practice clothes out of my truck." Tonight was going to be a long, long night.

"Good. I'm going to go change." She threw herself at him for a hug and took off for the bathroom.

"Damn it Puckerman. You have got to keep it together. Hands to yourself." He kept up his lecture to himself all the way to the truck then back up the stairs to her room. He was fairly sure his resolve would hold. It had to.

He was sitting on the bed waiting for her when she returned. His breath caught in his throat when he saw her in her pajamas. They were a completely ridiculous set with rubber duckies all over them. Her hair was down and her face was washed clean of makeup. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. And he knew. He knew right then and there that he was in love with her. There was nothing that he could do about it; even if there was, he wouldn't have bothered. He was so completely hers that she could have told him to light himself on fire and he would have done it no questions asked.

Puck let her pull the covers down and snuggle in next to him. When she laid her hand on his cheek and whispered his name in that soft voice, he knew what he was going to do. There was no way to stop it. He was only human and if he didn't kiss her right now he would die. So he did. He felt her lips on his and she was kissing him back. As he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer he ceased to think and just let himself feel.


	7. Chapter 7

**Oh, my gosh, you guys! Thanks for all the reviews. I kind of got teary eyed at the response from my last chapter.**

**And just so you don't think I threw that whole 'rape thing' out there lightly – I debated with myself for several days over that part. In the end I kept it because it was the only thing that I could come up with that would have kept Puck from telling Rachel. Because, so far, Puck still doesn't have the confidence to realize that he deserves the life that he wants. He still in the Lima-loser mindset and that's something that Quinn was banking on. **

**Also, please don't be too hard on Q. She had some things going on that will come out later.**

**So, with that all said, let's get on to the chappy!**

**Ch. 7**

**They try to pull me away but they don't know the truth**

She was beautiful. His eyes were glazing over with pleasure as he watched his angel rise above him wearing nothing but a white lace push up bra.

"Noah, I love you," She whispers to him as she rides him past the point of pleasure into ecstasy.

Puck closes his eyes and when he manages to look at her again, he realizes that she was pregnant. Somehow he knew that it was their child and everything was perfect. He slides his hands from her hips to her stomach as she continues to drive him to the brink.

"I'll never leave you. We will always be together," Rachel continues to whisper as she leans down to kiss him.

When she pulls back, he sees that it's Quinn looking at him with loathing.

"Loser!" She hisses.

************************* **************************************** **************

Puck jolted awake with a start. It took him a moment to realize exactly where he was. Definitely not his room. As be blinked he realized that he was at Rachel's. She was still curled up next to him with her head on his chest. He let out a breath and tried to let the horror from his dream drain out of him. He glanced down at Rachel, and wanted to cry with relief. Instead he pulled her a bit closer and hugged her.

He didn't mean to wake her, but her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey," she said with a sleepy smile.

"Hey, beautiful." Puck ran his hand over her cheek, just to remind himself that last night hadn't been a dream. The dance, the party, that incredible mind blowing kiss, falling asleep with her in his arms. It was all real.

"Mmmm… " Rachel started to snuggle back into him, but stopped mid-snuggle. Her hand went straight to her hair and she winced. "Ohhh, I must look awful."

"I think that you are probably the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Puck smiled as she blushed.

"Noah…about last night. What was that? I mean, did it mean, or does that make us…" She couldn't meet his eyes.

"It makes me your boyfriend, if you'll have me," Puck picked up her hand and kissed her palm. "Or your willing love slave. Whatever." He grinned down at her.

Rachel just looked at him for a second, before responding with a smile. "I think boyfriend will work very well for now."

"Good." Puck's heart, which he swore stopped beating during her pause, started functioning again.

"I'm starving." Rachel eased herself out of his arms and pulled him to a sitting position and hopped off the bed. "Let's go get some breakfast before my stomach starts to eat itself."

"Wow, that's an image I really didn't need." He shook his head in mock disgust as he followed her out the door.

"Watch it Puckerman, or no coffee for you." She flashed her smile and bounced out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

God, he loved her so much it felt like his heart might explode.

************************** ********************************** *********************

"I'm scared." Rachel glanced over at him. They were standing outside of the school Monday morning and she was holding his hand so tightly that he was beginning to loose circulation in three of his fingers.

"Scared of what? Ok, Rachel, if you break my fingers I won't be able to play guitar at rehearsal today." He jiggled their hands hoping to loosen her grip.

"What? Oh, sorry. Like I said, I'm scared." She let go of his hand and lined their pinky fingers.

"I think that we've already déjà-ed this vu. Explain, please." Thank god she had let go of that kung-fu grip.

"What are they going to say? What are they going to think?" Rachel was looking at him like he was an extremely slow three year old.

"About what? Peace in the Middle East?" He cocked his eyebrow at her.

"No. About us." Rachel gestured at himself and her before turning back to stare at the school.

"Who cares? They got used to us being friends, they'll get used us being more." Puck shrugged unconcerned.

"I guess. But maybe we should…I don't know. Do we have to tell everyone right away?" Rachel turned away from the school and peered up at him.

"What do you mean?" He felt his heart drop down into his toes.

"Well, maybe we could give this a while. So that I can get used to it. It's still so new and I'm just not sure that I can handle people making snide remarks about it right now. So, do you think that maybe…"

She was looking at him so innocently. Was she completely unaware that it felt like she had just ripped his heart out of his chest and stomped on it? Clearly not since she was still biting her lip and waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, sure. Let's keep it a secret. Wouldn't want to embarrass you by letting people know you're dating a loser." He yanked his hand away from hers and started to walk away from her.

"What? Wait, that's not what I meant." Puck stopped and turned as he felt Rachel's hand on his arm.

"Isn't it Rachel? It's ok for you to be friends with me, but not to date me. What am I supposed to think? Obviously I'm some kind of charity case that makes it acceptable to be nice to, but you can't take the embarrassment of admitting that you like me enough to want to be with me."

Maybe he was acting like an ass, but he couldn't stop thinking that she was embarrassed of him, of what happened between them. He had to get out of here now before he said something really stupid.

"I have to get to class. Later." As he walked away, Puck wondered how a day that had started out so perfectly had gone so horribly wrong.

************** ***************************** **************************** *************

"Noah! Would you please look at me?" He heard her voice but refused to look up from his history notes.

"What do you want Rachel?" He was not going to look up. The Continental Congress was just that fascinating.

"I want to talk about what just happened." Out of the corner of his eye he saw her sit down in the desk across the aisle from him.

"Why? People might overhear and then what would they think?" Puck brought his head up and glared at her.

"Noah, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I'm not ashamed to be with you, I swear." Rachel's eyes were soft and pleading and Puck felt his heart begin to soften a little.

"Then what Rachel? What am I supposed to think?" His voice was pleading with her to prove his wrong.

"It's just that… I know I say I don't care what people think, but I do sometimes! I can't help it. They said some really ugly things when we were just friends. I don't know if I want to hear what they will say about us now that we're together." A terrible suspicion began to awaken as he listened to her hesitant words.

"Are you concerned about what everyone in this school is going to say, or are you worried about one person in particular?" The question shot out of Puck' mouth before he could decide if he wanted the answer of not.

"What?" Her eyes were wide. And a little guilty.

"Don't act dumb Rachel. You know who I mean. Finn." He hissed the last word at her.

"I. Well the thought had crossed my mind." Her eyes were definitely guilty now as she tried to look anywhere but at him.

"So, you still like him." Puck felt a lead weight settle in his stomach.

"Noah, I….yes I do still like him. I can't lie to you. But the feelings that I have for you are real. You're my best friend, but what I have been feeling for you lately is more than friendship. It's…electrifying. I want to be with you." He felt Rachel's hand on his arm and the hurtful words he wanted to say got lodged in his throat.

"Please say something." She was leaning nearer to him and had a worried expression on her face.

"Okay. I don't like it. I really don't like it. But, for you, I'll deal with it. I can't keep this a secret though. Rachel, I don't want to hide this like some dirty little secret. If you're ashamed to be with me I have to know now." He released his breath with a sigh.

"Noah. I'm not." Before he could say anything else, she was out of her seat and next to him. She looked him dead in the eye and kissed him full on the mouth. Puck could hear the whispers erupt from the rest of the class.

"I guess I just outed us." Rachel ended the kiss and leaned her forehead against his.

"I guess so."

************************************ ******************************** ***************

"So here's the deal. They've gone public with their relationship." Mike and Matt looked very alarmed when Tina, Mercedes and Britt began to squeal.

"Wow, that was easier than I thought it would be." Artie leaned back in his chair and nodded his head in approval.

"But…" Kurt drew the word out as he took the top off his container of yoghurt.

"Wait, what do you mean, 'but'. We don't like but's." Brittany whipped around in her seat and clutched at Kurt's arm.

"I thought you said my butt was cute," Mike couldn't help but interject

"Ok, sorry," he tacked on after he saw the death glare that Britt was giving him.

"Anyway," Kurt tutted at Mike, "word is that Mr. Noah Puckerman is completely smitten, but that Rachel is not quite as far gone."

"What do you mean? Did you see the look on that girls face on Saturday? Her heart was ready to spill out at his feet!" Mercedes was sputtering and glaring at Kurt.

"Yes, well apparently she still has a thing for a certain goofy quarterback that almost made the relationship implode before it even began!" Kurt cocked his eyebrow and leaned his elbows on the table.

"No!" The members of Glee all breathed at him

"Yes." Kurt breathed back and leaned across the table.

"Well, Rachel is nothing if not stubborn." Artie was shaking his head. "I really don't think she still has feelings for Finn, but she probably doesn't realize it yet."

"God! Who would have thought that Rachel would be the one to be a stupid idiot here! This is a serious Freaky Friday moment we're having." Mercedes slumped back into her seat.

Santana rose from the lunch table and began gathering her things.

"San, where're you going? Lunch is only half over and we have some serious business to discuss!" Brittany grabbed her friend's wrist.

"I have something to take care of." Santana shook Brittany off and stepped away from the table. "Later."

"Well, we'll have to fill her in later." Brittany was staring after Santana.

So, we're all agreed?" As everyone nodded, Kurt sat up straighter. Ok, then let operation Puckleberry begin!"

****************************** **************************** ***********************

"Berry!" Santana pushed a freshman out of the way to get to Rachel.

"Santana…." Rachel didn't mean for it to come out as a groan of dismay, but she couldn't help it. She'd never been able to warm up to the Cheerio.

"You're really pathetic, you know that?" Santana had planted herself in front of Rachel effectively blocking the other girl's path.

"Oh, good insults. You know my day isn't complete without them." Rachel rolled her eyes and tried to sidestep Santana. Santana followed and Rachel finally stopped, resigned to listening.

"Well?"

"I can't believe that you're still panting after Finn when you have Puck. He's a few million rungs up the social ladder from you and you should be grateful that he would even acknowledge your freaky existence. But no, you'd rather have Finn." Santana folded her arms over her chest and glared at Rachel.

"I'm sorry how is this any of your business?" Rachel just glared back.

"Do you know how many girls in this school would give their right arm for Puck to look at them the way he looks at you? But instead you'd rather throw it all away for a boy who couldn't care less about you. I suggest that you wake up and smell the idiocy before someone more deserving steps in and takes Puck right out from under you nose." Santana spun on her heel almost whipping Rachel in the face with her ponytail.

"Later Man Hands." She shot over her shoulder as she stomped away from Rachel.

******************** ********************************** ************************

God, what a day. Puck had a headache that was nearing nightmare territory. He had been so happy just yesterday and now he was thinking that jumping off the top of the school and ending it would be a valid option.

According to the majority of the student body he was a loser with crap taste in women and questionable talent on the football field. And in serious need of exfoliation. He had no idea what the hell Kurt meant by that. And his girl had as much as told him that he was not her first choice in men. All that bad slushie karma must be catching up with him.

"Noah?" He heard Rachel's soft voice over him.

"Yeah?" He was not going to open his eyes. He'd closed them as soon as Mr. Shue declared Glee rehearsal over and wanted to keep them closed so that his eyeballs didn't explode out of his head.

"Are you ok, baby?" She was checking him for a fever now. If he didn't want to die it would be cute.

"I think my head is going to explode, but other than that…sure just peachy." Wow. Even he could hear the sarcasm in his voice.

"Why don't you come to my house? I can take care of you." She had dropped her voice to a whisper. She probably didn't want to get brain spatter all over her, which she would have because his brain would have exploded if she kept talking at a normal volume.

"Rach, it's ok. I just need to go home and get some sleep." He wasn't sure how he was going to get there, but surely that was the best plan of action.

"Well, you'll come home with me and let me take care of you and still get some sleep." He felt her hand on his arm trying to pull him from the chair.

"Rachel…." Puck finally cracked one eye open and saw her hovering over him.

"Noah, please? Let me do this for you."Rachel looked like she was about to burst into tears. Damn. He had no defense against that.

"Ok. Let's go." Sighing Puck heaved himself out of his chair.

***************************** ************ ****************************** ****

Fifteen minuets had passed and Puck's still felt like it might explode, but the feeling was passing. Rachel had insisted driving his truck, which would ordinarily have alarmed him. She was a midget and he didn't think that her feet even reached the pedals. Somehow she had managed the drive back to her house, though. He had kept his eyes closed for the drive, so he didn't know how many small animals or children she had mowed down on the way to her house and he figured that was for the best.

At the moment, she had him tucked into her bed and covered with this ridiculous fluffy pink afghan she kept at the bottom of her bed. He would have felt like a tool except for the head-explody think he had going on.

"Ok, here we go. Water and ibuprofen." She walked into the room carrying a tray with a water pitcher, a glass, and a bottle of something unidentifiable on it. She set the tray on her night table and sat down beside me. "Some people say aspirin is better but I completely disagree. Ibuprofen reduces inflammation and when you get a really nasty headache the muscles in your neck and shoulders tighten up and I'm completely convinced that regular aspirin wouldn't help with that issue. So, that's why I always use….Oh, Noah. I'm sorry. I'm talking too much. Here. Take these and get some sleep. I'll bring you some tea later."

Puck let her fuss over him and tuck him back in. She dropped a kiss on his cheek and walked out of the room shutting the door softly. It felt kinda nice to have her take care of him this way. Not that he'd ever admit it. But still. With a sigh, Puck felt his eyes close again and slid into the merciful oblivion of sleep.

***************************** *********************************** *******************

Puck felt a soft warm shape cuddled up to him. He opened his eyes and found Rachel curled up next to him, watching him with a worried expression on her face.

"Hey." He reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" Her voice was hushed and he could feel her shiver as he touched her.

"I think we're out of brain exploding territory now. I'm feeling much better." Puck sat up and began stretching.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was so soft that he almost didn't hear it.

"Why are you sorry?" He shifted on the bed so that he was facing her.

"For today. For how I acted. It was stupid. It's just that I've never had a boyfriend before and I know that I always say that I don't care what other people think, but sometimes I do and I really didn't want to hear people telling me that you were too good for me, but I heard it anyway and after the way I acted I really think that she was right and…" Rachel was looking down at the bed and letting her hair cover her face.

"Who is she?" Puck tipped her chin up so that she was looking at him. He could see tears threatening to spill down her cheeks.

"Santana." She swallowed and sniffed.

"Santana Lopez?" This was getting weirder and weirder

"Yes. She spelled out for me in very clear terms that I was an idiot for harboring any feelings of any kind for Finn and not just thanking my lucky stars that you would even deign to put up with my freakishness." The tears in Rachel's eyes finally spilled down her cheeks.

"Come on, Rach, you know how Santana is. I'm not sure what she's up to, but she's up to something." Puck gathered Rachel in his arms and pulled her into his lap.

"She's right." Her voice was muffled against his shirt.

"No, she's not." Puck assured her.

"Yes. She is right. I can't deny that I still have some feelings for Finn. It may be stupid, but I can't just turn them off. It doesn't make me care for you any less. I want to be with you. I'm so sorry that I didn't explain that well to you today. I was just feeling scared and insecure and…." She was beginning to shake. Puck had to explain this to her so that could see that none of his was her fault.

"Rachel, I love you." He could feel her tense in his arms. "I don't expect you to say it back, especially because I know that you don't feel the same way. I acted like an ass today. I was jealous and I shouldn't have been." This was harder than anything he'd ever said, he swallowed and tried to explain how he felt. "If there is one thing that I know, it's that real love should be a gift. It shouldn't have expectations or strings attached. "

Puck reached down and took her hand. "That is the kind of love that I have for you. Today, I was acting …today was….I don't know. I guess I was expecting you to just fall for me so that we'd both be on the same level and I wouldn't get hurt. But things don't work like that. It was selfish of me and Rachel, if there is one thing that I want it's for you to be happy. So, I'll wait however long it takes for you to feel the same way. And if you never do I'll love you just the same."

He looked down at her to find her looking back at him.

"Noah Puckerman, how did I ever get so lucky?" Rachel reached up to lay her lips against him.

"I'm the lucky one." He whispered back to her and kissed her with everything he had.


	8. Chapter 8

**Once again, I am amazed and humbled by the response this story has gotten. **

**Oh, and sorry about all the typos. I was so excited to get the last chapter up that I didn't proof read as well as I should have.**

**Less Rachel and Puck in this chapter, but I wanted to start some of the other subplots that need to be brought to light. **

**Ch. 8**

**My heart's crippled by vein that I keep on closing **

Puck was going to find out what Santana was up to. She had been making his life miserable since she broke up with him and now she was intervening to get Rachel to fall for him? Something was not adding up here.

He had been waiting since football practice was over and he knew that Coach Sylvester would be ending cheer practice soon. Santana would have to come back to her locker to pick up her books, because she was invariably a good girl about doing her homework and kept her stellar GPA almost as secret as he did.

He leaned against her locker and sighed. He wondered if Santana realized that he had actually done him a favor yesterday. Probably not. If she did she'd be trying to fix that huge error in judgment. Puck was so lost in thought that he had completely missed the Cheerio's entrance. He was recalled to reality by an impatient Santana.

"Earth to Puckerman! You wanna move so I can get my stuff?" She shot him a glare and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Santana, we need to talk." Puck pushed himself away from the bank of lockers and looked down at her.

"Fine, but you know it annoys me when I have to have a conversation in one syllable words only." She dug through her locker and pulled out some books.

"Your sarcasm astounds me." Puck shoved his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders.

"Oh, my. Been using the dictionary? I guess Berry must be good for something after all. Remind me to thank her." She turned and headed down the hall.

"San, I said we needed to talk." Puck hurried after her.

"So talk. I have to get my English book from the choir room." Santana didn't bother to look over her shoulder at him.

"What was going on yesterday?" As they entered the room Puck stopped and leaned against the door frame.

"Could you be any vaguer?" He watched her look under chairs until she found her book.

"With Rachel." Was she purposely being dense?

"Well, man hands needed a little sense knocked into her and I decided to be the one to do the knocking." Santana located her book, stuffed into her bag and tried to walk out the door.

"Why?" Puck laid a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Why do you think, Puck?" Santana turned toward him and was giving him her full attention now.

"I've been trying to figure that out and the only solution I can come up with is that you're still trying to make me miserable and it backfired." He cocked his head and waited for her to affirm his suspicions.

"You know, I always hoped that there was an actual brain underneath all of that Neanderthal jock exterior, but clearly that was just wishful thinking." She jerked away from his hand and walked towards the middle of the room.

"What are you talking about San?" Puck pushed away from the door jam and stood in front of her with his arms crossed. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

"I wanted to help you jackass." Puck's eyebrow's shot up in astonishment as Santana flung her bag away and stomped her foot.

"Why?" He was going to have a hard time wrapping his brain around this one.

"Puck, when we were going out, I really liked you. A lot." He watched her as she walked over to the wall and stood facing it.

"Which you showed spectacularly by dumping me for a completely stupid reason." Puck felt as if he was entering the Twilight Zone. Was he really having a heart to heart with Santana Lopez?

"I dumped you because I knew you didn't like me like I wanted you to. Our relationship was going no where fast and I decided to try to hurt you like you hurt me. I wanted to you care about me, and I deserved to be in a relationship like that, so I got out." Santana looked like she was trying to pretend like she was talking to the wall- like he wasn't even in the room.

"I did care about you San. I liked you. And it hurt when you broke up with me." Puck couldn't believe the words leaving his mouth. He swore he would never let this girl know that she had hurt him.

"You were never going to fall in love with me." The words leaving Santana's mouth were barely above a whisper.

"No, I wasn't." He couldn't lie to her. He watched her nod slowly and turn to lean against the wall.

"That was what I wanted." With a sigh she let her self slide to the floor and sit there with her arms resting on her knees. Puck couldn't think of any reply to form, so he just listened as she continued. "I still care about you Puck, and I want you to be happy. So that's why I had that little intervention with Rachel. You look at her like I always wanted to you to look at me. You love her, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do." Puck walked over and sat next to her.

Santana just nodded and looked down at her hands.

"But hey, you have Matt now." Puck was getting a little uncomfortable with all the honesty.

"Matt and I are just friends." She sighed again.

"But…" That was a shocker. From the way he watched the two interact, he was sure that they were dating. Although, come to think of it, he had never seen them hold hands or hug or kiss. Huh.

"We both like other people. Unfortunately for us, these other people don't like us back. We went to the dance together because it was better than staying home. And Matt is a really good friend. I love hanging out with him." He was surprised to hear the hitch in her voice. As long as he'd know her, Santana had never showed a sign of weakness. She must really like this guy.

"So, who is this stupid guy?" Puck nudged her with his elbow.

"No." Santana shook her head and kept looking at her hands.

"Come on San, tell me." He nudged her again.

"No. It's too embarrassing." She dropped her head to her knees.

"Embarrassing? You don't like that creepy Jacob Israel kid do you? Because that would be embarrassing." Now he was dying to know who the mystery man was.

No! Gross and ew!" She raised her head from her knees and thumped Puck on the shoulder. "It's embarrassing because this guy would never give me the time of day."

"Well that's a relief. About it not being creepy stalker kid. Come on. Tell me." Puck leaned over and bumped his shoulder to hers.

Santana sighed and looked down. "It's Artie."

"Oh." Artie who was completely into Tina. Puck put his arm around Santana's shoulders.

"This really hurts a lot." She leaned her head on his shoulder and he rested his head on hers.

"I know." Man, did he ever.

* * *

"So, she was offering up an olive branch when she cornered me in the hallway? I feel like we've stepped into some alternate universe." Rachel snuggled closer to Puck as they were lying on her bed.

"Seriously." He could really get used to this. The sensation of having a smart, sexy, beautiful woman that you loved pressed into you was definitely a superior sensation.

"So, who is this guy that she likes?" Rachel tipped her head up and smiled at him.

"Uh-uh. I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone, Rach. Not even you." Puck kissed the tip of her nose and smiled back.

"No fair. It had better not be you or I will kill her." Rachel pulled her lips into a pout.

"Jealous?" Puck whispered into her ear and felt her shiver.

"Maybe." Rachel whispered back, her eyes getting all shiny and big.

"Hmmmm…. I think I'm a little turned on." He nuzzled her ear and let out a low growl.

"Perv." Rachel batted at him playfully, and then frowned. "Seriously, though can't you even give me a hint?"

"Rachel, no! It's just…it's not me. And you could figure it out pretty easily if you just pay attention to San when she….Jesus, Rachel. How am I supposed to concentrate when you do that?" He drew his breath in sharply as Rachel ran her tongue over his ear and bit down lightly.

"That's the whole point. I think we should be concentrating on us right now. We can discuss Santana and her dubious love life later." She was working her way from his ear down to his neck.

"I love how your mind works." Puck managed to gasp out. It was time for some serious reciprocation.

* * *

Ok, he was going to do this. Yes, yes he was. He just had to find her. It used to be easy to find her. Either in the choir room or the auditorium. But that was before his asshole ex-best friend had stolen her right out from under him. Her friendship, that's what he mean. tMaybe. Oh, hell he didn't even know anymore.

All he knew was that this year had started out great. He was popular, had a super cool girlfriend and was on the football team. Now, yeah he was still on the football team and he still had that girlfriend. But people were throwing slushies on him. He was in Glee now and sometimes he thought that it was as much of a curse as a blessing. His cool girlfriend was starting to act scary crazy. Like he was afraid of her sometimes. They had a baby on the way and that might account for some of it, but still. And that baby. He really resented it and he felt guilty for that. He didn't want it and was happy when Quinn told him that they would put it up for adoption.

And then there was Rachel. She made him feel things. Things that he wanted but were out of reach and that really pissed him off. Especially when Puck had swooped in that day in the auditorium.

How was it any of Puck's business anyway? That discussion was between himself and Rachel. Then Puck had butted in and somehow had never left Rachel's side since. They were always laughing and talking and singing and studying together. Almost every time he tried to call Rachel, Puck was at her house for dinner or she was at his house watching a movie. Finn had always been suspicious of the whole 'just friends' story. Now he was convinced that the months of those two being best buddies had been crap. They'd been together that whole time. Puck had been using her that whole time. And somehow Rachel had convinced Puck to go public. He couldn't figure out how, but Rachel could pull off anything.

Besides, he'd heard the rumors that Rachel and Puck had been arguing over her continued feelings for him in the middle of history class. Finn knew Rachel still liked him. Puck was just a distraction for her. And he was going to get her back. Right now. There she was, walking down the hallway singing to herself. God she was so beautiful.

"Rachel!" Finn darted out from the behind the bank of lockers he'd been lurking behind.

"Hello Finn." Rachel shot him a smile but continued walking.

"What are you doing?" Finn fell into step beside her.

"I'm getting some sheet music from the choir room, then I'm heading home." She glanced over at him and furrowed her brow a little

"Well forget that and come out with me!" Finn reached out a hand and pulled Rachel to a stop.

"Go out with you? Finn, this really isn't a good time…" She slowly turned towards him shaking her head.

"This is an excellent time," Finn plowed on ignoring her protests. "We'll go bowling. Remember what a good time we had last time?"

"Yes, I remember last time, but I also remember that you were using me." Rachel's lips thinned and she began to turn away from him.

"Rachel, please. I hardly ever get to see you anymore. You're always with Puck." Finn grabbed her hand to stop her from going.

"Well, he is my boyfriend. And my best friend." She was weakening. He could see it!

"Well, I think you need a break from him. Come on." Finn began to pull her down the hall.

"Finn! I can't I'm going to Toledo tonight." Rachel planted her feet and pulled her hand away.

"Toledo? But that's like an hour away. And it's a school night." Finn could feel confusion beginning to mount. Why was she making this so hard?

"I'm fully aware of that, thank you." Rachel narrowed her eyes at him and started walking towards the choir room again.

"Well, I'll go with you." Finn jogged a few steps to catch up with her.

"Finn, stop it!" Rachel stopped abruptly and swung around to face him. "I'm driving to Toledo tonight with Puck. We're going to see Phantom of the Opera at the Stranahan Theater."

"Yeah, ok. Now I know you're making this up. Puck wouldn't be caught dead watching that sh….stuff. Not even the movie where that one singing chick was hot. Come on, let's go." Finn was chuckling as he grabbed her hand again.

Finn," Rachel pulled her hand away, "I can assure you that this is no joke. Puck gave those tickets to me last month for my birthday. We are driving into Toledo to have dinner and see the show. Stop this right now."

Finn didn't want to stop this right now. He wanted to punch something right now. Puck had given Rachel theater tickets for her birthday? The bastard! Finn had slipped a Hallmark card into Rachel's locker on her birthday and thought that he was way ahead of the game. Puck didn't do birthdays when it came to chicks. The sneaky bastard had outmaneuvered him!

"You know Rachel, I know how you feel about me. I don't know why you're wasting time on Puck. Forget him and come with me. I know that's what you really want." Finn grabbed her arms just above her elbows and pulled her towards him. Why was she doing this? Why couldn't she just admit that she loved him? Then he could tell her that he….liked her? Whatever. They'd figure it out once she stopped being so stubborn.

Rachel pushed herself away from him and slapped him as hard as she could.

"How could you possibly know how I feel for you when I don't even know myself? But I can tell you that at the moment the only thing that I feel for you is disgust. Even Quinn deserves better than that!" Rachel headed straight out of the building without her music. And Finn was left feeling like a fool.

* * *

"Ha! I just killed your Jedi. Come to the dark side we have cookies!" Mike crowed, wiggling his butt around in his beanbag chair.

"Dude, you are such a geek." Matt glared at him and contemplated putting his friend in a headlock, but decided against it. It would mean moving from his own very comfortable beanbag chair.

"I'm not the one who's seen Return of the Jedi fifty times." Mike glared back.

"Shut. Up. So, no plans with Britt tonight?" Matt stretched out his legs and decided it was time to take a break from video games anyway.

"Naw, her cousins are in town this week. What about you? No plans with the luscious Santana?" Mike waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Sanny and I are just friends." Matt shook his head and reached for his root beer.

"Still?" Mike dropped his controller and shook his head.

"Yeah." Matt didn't bother to look at his best friend. He could feel the waves of disappointment radiating from Mike from here.

"When are the two of you planning to do something about this?" Mike picked up his own root bear and took a swig.

"Never." Matt leaned back further in the beanbag.

"Never? So you two are just going to pseudo date each other through the rest of high school while the people you really like are off dating each other?" Mike was staring at Matt, who was still refusing to look at him.

"That's pretty much the plan." Matt closed his eyes to hide the hurt that this whole love quadrangle was causing him.

"Dude." Matt's eyes popped back open at the shock and disbelief that Mike managed to get across with that one word.

"Don't wanna talk about it anymore." He hoped that Mike would get the message and let it drop.

"Fine. Hey, have you noticed that Finn's getting really stalker-like lately." Mike shifted gears easily.

"What did he do this time?" Matt shook his head. Finn had been acting _weird_ lately.

"I was on my way out of school today and he was like manhandling Rachel. I was going to go over and pop him one, but she seemed to have the situation really well under control. She slapped him so hard I thought his jaw was going to come off and then she ran off." Mike demonstrated the slap complete with sound effects.

"Yeah, Finn has turned into a total douche bag. Rachel is so much better off with Puck." Matt sighed and shook his head again.

"Puck has always been the cooler of the two." Mike settled back in his beanbag.

"So, more Star Wars Battlefront?" Matt coked an eyebrow.

"You know it bro."

**BTW, thanks to Violet Shadow for the inspiration on Santana/Artie's pairing. Genius. Also, if you are reading this, any plans on continuing The Girl From Over The Rainbow? **


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry it's taken me so long to post. I had a bit of writers block on this chapter. Plus real life interfered, and I've been sick. Thanks for all the support, though. You have no idea how much it means to me. **

**Lots and lots happening in this chapter. Hope you all like. **

**Also, to those of you who have commented on how douche baggy Finn has been in my story, I have to agree. It's just that I dislike his character so much! In the interest of being fair, however, I'll try to take it a little easier on him from now on.**

**Also, I love Suzy Pepper. What she said to Rachel in that eppy was so true. Rachel does want men she can't have. And the one she could have, Puck, she totally pushed away. I'm hoping that she will realize that and then she and Puck can get back together. Yay! Ok, probably won't happen, but a girl can dream, right?**

**Ch. 9**

**You cut me open and I keep bleeding love**

"He did what?!?!?! Why didn't you tell me about this last night?" Puck turned from his locker and stared at Rachel.

"I didn't tell you because I wanted last night to be perfect. And it was." He continued to stare at her. Rachel sighed and shook her head. "Puck, please calm down."

"Calm down. Really? Are you being serious right now?" Puck slammed the door to his locker and clenched his jaw.

"Yes. People are starting to stare." Rachel tucked some hair behind her ear and leaned against the locker next to his.

"Yeah, they'll be staring even more when I rip his arm off and beat his head in with it." Puck kicked his locker vengefully.

"What a charming mental picture. I think you're overreacting." She folded her arms and tried to remain calm.

"I'm overreacting? Finn put his hands on you. I'm overreacting to that?" Puck stood in front of her and dropped his hands to her shoulders. He would _kill_ Finn if he put another finger on his girl.

"Yes. You know that things have to be rough with Quinn right now. He's probably looking for a distraction." Rachel knew she had him on this one. She could see the wheels turning in his head.

Puck kinda felt like throwing up. Things would be rough with Quinn right now. Because of him. _Oh, God._

"You'll see. Everything will be fine. Let's go to Glee." Rachel took his hand and led him down the hallway.

* * *

As they entered the choir room, Puck could sense that things were off. Finn and Quinn were holding a tense whispered conversation in the corner. Santana and Matt were sitting next to each other and whispering frantically to each other while Santana held his arm in a death grip. Santana looked happy and a little scared at the same time, so Puck figured that whatever was going on with them was good at least.

The strangest thing though, was Tina and Artie. They were sitting on complete opposite sides of the room not looking at each other. That was very odd because the two were practically inseparable. Also, add to that the fact that Artie was staring intently at the blank chalkboard, and Tina was looking at the linoleum looking like she was trying to hold back tears and it didn't take a genius to figure out that something was wrong with them.

Kurt rushed into the room behind them and said in a hushed whisper. "Tina and Artie broke up. We don't know why because neither of them has said two words all day. But Brittany found Tina crying in the bathroom and all she would say was that Artie broke up with her. Which is actually more than two words for her, but you know what I mean. Drama." Kurt slipped past them and went to join Mercedes.

Puck's eyes flew to Santana. No wonder she looked happy and frightened. This was what she had been waiting for. He kind of wondered how she was going to handle this whole thing. Puck's eyes slid over to Matt who was still whispering with Santana, but his eyes were locked on Tina. God, this was like Day's of Our Fricking Lives.

The quiet in the room was suddenly shattered. Everyone's eyes swung towards the corner where Quinn and Finn were standing. Quinn was swinging one of the music stands at Finn's face and cursing loudly.

"I'm going to kill you, you son of a bitch." The music stand connected with Finn's face and sent him to the floor bleeding and dazed. Quinn brought the music stand up over her head and brought it down on Finn's head again. As she raised the stand again, Puck felt himself unfreeze and he dashed over to Quinn feeling his heart in his throat. He grabbed the stand before she could smash it on Finn again and yanked it out of her hands. She glared at him and raised her hand to slap him, but it turned into a punch that caught him under the eye. Puck could feel his skin rip open under her rings, but he reached out and snagged her around the waist pinning her arms as gently as he could. She was struggling and cursing at him and still trying to get to Finn. Everyone in the room was frozen in position, shocked into inaction by Quinn's sudden outburst.

"Someone call an ambulance for Finn. Now! And anyone else you can think of. Hurry!" Puck continued to keep a hold on Quinn, who seemed unnaturally strong right now.

Brittany grabbed her cell phone and sprinted out of the room, dragging Mike behind her. "Get Mr. Shue," he heard her shout before he turned his attention back to Quinn, who was still struggling in his arms. He began pulling her back away from Finn as gently as he could. As he moved out of the way, he saw Mercedes move to Finn and begin to check the extent of the damage that Quinn had caused.

Puck noticed that Quinn's struggles were becoming less and less. Suddenly she sagged against him and let out a sob. "Oh god. Oh god what have I done?" Her legs buckled and Puck lowered her to the floor.

"Shit! What is going on in here?" Mr. Shue came tearing in the room followed by Mike and Brittany.

"Ambulance is on its way," Brittany let out breathlessly and grabbed onto Mike who looked ashen.

Puck was holding on to Quinn on the floor as she sobbed uncontrollably. He glanced over to Rachel and saw her clutching Santana's hand. Matt was crouched next to Tina who looked like she was about to pass out. Kurt and Arite were frozen next to each other. Mr. Shue looked torn, should he check on the pregnant girl or the bleeding boy?

While his inner debate raged Coach Sylvester and Ms. Pillsbury flew in the doorway.

"Oh, Will. What happened?" Ms. Pillsbury breathed with her hand on her heart.

"Ok, Pillsbury, since you're mentally unhinged yourself, you go check on psycho preggers. I'll put my field medic training to use on Frankenteen over there. Sheuster go look for the ambulance that Anna Nicole called." Coach Sylvester began marching over to Finn as she barked out orders. The woman might be cracked, but she knew what to do in an emergency.

Puck let Ms. Pillsbury take the still sobbing Quinn out of his arms and lead her gently to a chair. Coach Sylvester was trying to assess the extent of Finn's head trauma. Everything seemed like it was moving in slow motion. Thoughts were flying through Puck's head. _What the hell was going on with Quinn? What made her go all schizoid like that? Was the baby alright? Should he be doing something to help her right now? Was Finn going to be ok? _Yeah, he was mad as hell at Finn but Puck didn't want to see him hurt. What the hell was going on? He could hear the sound of running in the hall outside the door and looked up to see the paramedics burst into the room. Most made a beeline to Finn, but two headed straight towards Quinn. Behind the EMT's were two police officers who headed for Quinn as well. Mr. Shue hovered in the door looking shell shocked.

"Ok folks," said one of the officers, "we're going to need statements from you all about what happened. We'll start with you," pointing at Tina.

Puck made his way over to Rachel and Santana who were now sitting on the floor but still holding hands. He wrapped his arm around Rachel and felt her lean into him, then reached out and snagged Santana's other hand and they all just sat still stunned. Puck kept his eyes on Quinn who was still crying and shaking. He wondered how much sense she was making.

When the police finally called Santana over to question her, Rachel wrapped her other arm around him and let out a small sob. "What just happened?" she whispered to him. Puck just shook his head. The EMT's were getting ready to wheel Finn and Quinn out of the door. He needed to be there with Quinn, but how was he going to do it without being arrested?

"Someone should be there with her until her parents get to the hospital. I'm going to ask." There was no way he was letting Quinn out of his sight right now. He needed to make sure her freak out hadn't hurt the baby.

"Ok." Rachel wrapped her arms around herself and looked so small and lost that Puck hated himself for walking away from her. But he had to protect his baby. He had to.

"Excuse me, but I really think that someone should go with Quinn to the hospital. She's pregnant and the stress that this could cause to the baby…" Puck walked up to the closest officer determined to go with Quinn.

"That's very thoughtful son, but right now Ms. Fabray is dangerous and we can't risk a civilian. She'll be attended by one of our officers on the way to the hospital. Since you're here, I want to ask you about what you saw of the altercation." The officer opened his notepad, oblivious to Puck's determination.

"I wasn't really paying attention. Rachel and I walked into the room and…" Puck trailed off eyeing Quinn on the stretcher.

"Rachel being?" The officer looked up at him. Two of the EMT's began to take Quinn out of the room. Puck snapped back to attention when the officer cleared his throat.

"Huh? Oh, my girlfriend. Brown hair. Anyway Rachel and I came into the room and I noticed that Quinn and Finn were arguing in the corner, but then Kurt came in behind us and told us that two of our other friends had broken up and then…then Quinn just lost it. I have no idea what they were talking about." Puck shook his head. "But look I really think that someone needs to be with Quinn that she knows…"

"I'm sorry son, but no. She's already on her way to the ambulance. Her parents will meet her there. Everything will be fine. Don't you worry." He gave Puck a reassuring pat on the shoulder before walking over to Mr. Shue.

Puck let out the breath that he had been holding and looked over at Rachel. She was talking to the other officer and looked like she was about to cry. Damn it! He should be comforting Rachel, but he should also be with Quinn making sure his baby was alright. The two most important women in his life were in trouble and he was failing them both. Until he could work up a plan to help his little girl, he would have to take care of Rachel. He could do this. He could.

Puck walked over to Rachel when he saw the cop leave. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered, "You ok?"

She nodded against his shoulder. "Yeah. It's just. What happened? I don't understand. I don't"

"I don't know. We should go check though. I mean to make sure she's ok. Not that we can do anything, but…" _but I need to check on my baby!_

"I agree. Quinn really needs friends right now. And we should check on Finn too." Rachel began gathering up their things.

"Yeah." Puck looked towards the door way and saw Ms. Pillsbury lay a hand on Mr. Shue's arm before leaving. Coach Sylvester followed her muttering about cheer practice and hormones.

"Everyone, I know that this has been very traumatic for everyone involved, but the best thing we can do right now is to take some time to process. I'm cancelling glee for the rest of the week, but if any of you need to talk about what happened please know that my door is always open as is Ms. Pillsbury's." Mr. Shue shook his head and hurried out the door after his colleges.

Mercedes, Kurt and Artie moved towards the doorway holding a quiet conversation.

Brittany turned to Santana. "C'mon. We still have to go to cheer practice. Coach Sylvester will kill us if we don't." Santana nodded, still visibly shaken. She followed Brittany from the room.

Matt was still talking to Tina, trying to comfort her.

Puck looked at Rachel. "Let's get out of here." She nodded silently and moved closer to him. Puck wrapped his arm around her as they left the room.

* * *

"This is so frustrating! We can't see Quinn since she's in the psych ward and we can't see Finn because he's in the emergency room! I could scream right now!" Rachel dropped down in one of the hospital chairs with a huff.

"I might join you." Puck sat down as well and leaned his head against the wall.

"What are we going to do now?" Rachel looked over at him.

"Wait, I guess." Puck sighed. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Santana knew something was wrong the minute she was thrown into the air. She could feel that the basket was off. It was fortunate that she didn't have much time to think or she would have been scared. As it was, all she really had time to think was, _Well, fuck_. Then she had an extreme moment of pain and then nothing.

* * *

"Ugh, that was awful!" Rachel flopped back on her bed and reached out a hand to pull Puck down beside her.

"It was." Puck still felt sick that he couldn't check on Quinn, but there was no way that was happening. He wrapped his arm around Rachel and held her close.

"At least Finn is going to be ok." Rachel dropped a kiss on his nose and continued, "It's really nice that you two made up. Things are going to be so much less awkward." She sighed and snuggled into his chest.

* * *

Tonight had been awkward enough, that's for sure. They had finally managed to track Finn' mom down when she stepped out to have a cigarette. Puck knew Mrs. Hudson and in times of stress, the woman smoked like a chimney. They just hung around the parking lot until they found her. She told them that Finn was pretty banged up, but the worst he had was a broken nose and a concussion. They were moving him upstairs for the night and would be discharged tomorrow.

Puck and Rachel had followed her directions up to the second floor and peaked into Finn's room. He still looked pretty rough. Quinn had done quite a number on him. As they stood awkwardly in the doorway, Finn opened his eyes and looked over at them.

"Hey, guys."

"Hey Finn. We wanted to check on you. Are you ok?" Rachel moved into the room and took Finn's hand

"Yeah. Who knew I could piss off someone so much? "Finn let out a painful chuckle at his lame joke.

"Finn, what happened?" Puck was still watching from the doorway unsure if he would be welcome in the room or not.

"I don't really know." Finn shook his head and winced slightly at the pain. "We were arguing. About her mood swings. Quinn's been really out there for the last week. I was trying to get her to go to the doctor to get things checked out and I don't know what happened."

"Have you heard anything about her condition?" Rachel let go of his hand and sat down in the chair by the head of his bed. She inclined her head slightly silently ordering Puck to enter the room completely.

"My mom talked to her parents. They want to kill me, by the way. But all they know is that she's fine and the baby's fine. They're going to keep her for a while to figure out what's going on with her, though." Finn leaned his head back and watched as Puck made his way over to the bed.

"Thank goodness they're both alright though. I imagine the risk to the fetus would be enormous given the amount of stress that Quinn must be going through." Rachel took Finn's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Yeah. No thanks to me. I've been a complete ass lately. And I want to apologize to you. To both of you. I've been so out of line. I'm happy for the two of you. Really. I just got so caught up in my own drama that I guess I was just jealous of seeing the two of you so happy. I hope we can maybe still be friends." Finn was looking down at his blankets and appeared to be holding back tears.

"Finn, of coarse we can! There's no maybe about it." Rachel shot a death look at Puck, willing him to say the same.

"We're cool dude." Puck was almost limp with relief that the doctor's said that the baby was ok. Thank God. At the same time he felt like shit that Finn was apologizing to him. He didn't deserve and apology.

When they left Finn's room, they had made another failed attempt to see Quinn.

"Family only. You should go home. You can call tomorrow and check on Ms. Fabray, though." The nurse at the desk gave them a sympathetic smile.

Since they had no other options, Rachel had insisted that they head back to her house and call the other members of Glee to give them an update.

* * *

Puck sighed and lay back on Rachel's bed. He could hear her talking to Tina from downstairs.

"Matt's still with you? How sweet of him. Ok. I'll see you tomorrow." Interesting. Matt was still with Tina? He was going to have a little chat with Matt soon. When he wasn't completely exhausted and emotionallydrained.In addition to having a chat with Matt, he was going to have to reopen the subject of the baby situation when Quinn was out of the hospital. He didn't care what she had to say, he was going to take care of his baby girl. And then he was going to have to figure out how to tell Rachel.

Puck glanced over to the door when he heard it open. Rachel was standing there wearing a sexy smile. God, she was beautiful. She could make everything in his world seem perfect just by smiling. He started to smile back when she launched herself at the bed.

"Puck! Your eye. God! With everything going on, I completely forgot." Rachel's smile disappeared.

"What?" Puck could feel his brain struggle to keep up with her change in mood. Rachel's smile was replaced by a concerned frown. She hovered over him and gently touched his cheek directly below his eye. He winced at the sudden sting. Oh, yeah. Quinn had clocked him.

"Don't move." Rachel bounded off the bed so fast he didn't have time to stop her. He didn't care about his eye. He just wanted to hold her. He needed her right now.

As Puck was raising himself up on his elbows Rachel flung herself back in the room holding some antiseptic and salve.

"Ok. Hold still." He closed his eyes and felt her soft fingers applying medicine to the cut. "All better." Her breath fluttered over his skin and Puck had to hold back a groan. The girl could turn him on with one touch.

He felt her lips gently caress his check and then his jaw before coming to rest on his lips. When she darted her tongue out and ran it over his bottom lip, Puck felt himself going under. He was drowning in Rachel, and he didn't want it to end. His arms tightened around her and he pulled her down onto his chest.

Puck felt like he could die a happy man. Rachel was pressing her soft body into him and he was hardening in response. When he felt her fingers undo his belt, he heard a voice very faintly in his head. _It's not time. _Shut up, he tried to tell himself. _No, _the voice went on firmly, _this is not what you want. You want all of her, not just a part. If you do this now everything will be ruined. There is still too much to be resolved. Stop it now._

"We have to stop." Puck managed to gasp this out as he felt Rachel lower his zipper and slide her hand under his boxers.

"I don't want to. Make love to me." Rachel's voice came out in a sexy pant and cured her fingers around him. He nearly lost it again as she bean to stroke him.

"Rachel, this is going to be your first time. It should be special. You should be with someone that you love." He placed his hands on hers, stilling them with a groan.

"Noah, I care about you. I want to be with you. I want you to be my first. It's enough." Rachel ran a hand over Puck's scalp sending tingles down his body. It would be so easy to give in. But he couldn't.

"Not for me. It's not enough for me. When I make love to you, I want to know that you love me back." He had to move. Touching her was started to erode his self control.

"Noah…." Rachel was cut off by the ringing of Puck's phone. He tried to ignore it, but then it occurred to him that it might be Quinn. He had to answer.

"Noah, get it. What if it's about Quinn or Finn?" Rachel sat up and he lunged for his phone.

"Hello? Mike? What? What's wrong? What! Dude where? Ok, we're on our way!" Puck jumped up from the bed, zipping his pants

"Noah, is it Quinn?" Rachel's arm snaked out to grab him.

"No, it's Santana." Puck turned towards her and he could feel the panic building in the pit of his stomach.

"What?" Rachel was staring at him, worry beginning to show in her eyes.

"Mike said Britt wasn't making much sense. Something about Cheerio practice and an accident. We need to get to the hospital."


	10. Chapter 10

**Yes, I know. Everyone's in the hospital! See, what happened was that due to writers block, I used the time I would have devoted to working on the story to catching up on all the General Hospital that I'm backlogged on. Anyway, it may have influenced me just a touch. This chapter has less hospital and more story advancement. Yay! **

**Also, thanks for being so patient with me on the no updating thing. Things were really going to hell in a hand basket for a while and I didn't have time to sleep, let alone write. Things are getting back to normal now, so my fingers are crossed that I can get this story back on track.**

**Ch. 10**

**Trying hard not hear but they talk so loud **

Puck pulled up outside Rachel's house and watched as she opened the front door and stepped outside. He knew what was coming next. Her morning ritual. She would turn and lock the front door, place the key carefully back in the inside pocket of her purse, zip the pouch, zip the purse, run her right hand through her hair, and square her shoulders before striding down the walk to his truck. Puck smiled. Every morning. He had it memorized.

Once she reached his truck, she would place her bag on the floor, hop in the cab, fasten her seat belt, lock the door, then lean over for their first kiss of the morning. Everything proceeded as usual until Puck realized that he was the only one leaning. Rachel was sitting bold upright in the passenger seat looking out the windshield with her hands primly folded in her lap.

Ok. Not the way he wanted to start the day, but he might as well get the talk out of the way before they left for school. He had hoped to have more caffeine in his system before he tacked this issue, but so be it. He picked up one of the coffees in his drink holder and handed it to Rachel. She took it without looking at him, murmuring her thanks. Puck picked up the other cup and took a bracing sip while he regarded Rachel. She wasn't going to make this easy on him. He sighed heavily and decided to take the plunge.

"I think we should talk about last night." He stopped waiting for a response.

"To which part of last night are you referring?" Rachel continued to stare out the windshield and sip her coffee.

_Uh-oh. She's using her snooty voice._ Puck shook his head. That was a sure sign that she was hurt by what he had said.

"You know to which part I'm referring, but let me refresh your memory. The part where you asked me to make love to you." Again he paused, waiting for a response.

"Ah. The part where you refused." He heard the catch in her voice and felt his heart ache in response.

"Rach, don't make it sound like that. " He couldn't stand to see her sad. He reached out to take her hand, but she avoided him by pretending to tuck some hair behind her ear.

"How should I make it sound? I was ready to give myself to you. Completely. And you rejected it. How else should it sound?" She finally looked over at him and he saw the pain and uncertainty in her eyes. He hated that he had put that look there.

"I didn't reject it. I didn't reject _you_. There wasn't time for me to explain with Santana and everything, but…" Puck heard himself trail off lamely. _You're doing a piss poor job of this Puckerman, grow some balls and do something!_

"You said it wasn't enough for you. I think you made yourself perfectly clear." She was back to looking out the windshield.

"You are right it wasn't enough for me." Puck saw her spine stiffen when he spoke those words. He knew what she was thinking, but he needed to get her attention so that she would really hear what he had to tell her. Emotional declarations weren't his style, so he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to give a repeat performance if she wasn't listening.

"Rachel. Look at me." He waited until her eyes were on him, then he put his coffee back in the cup holder and did the same with hers, before continuing. "I have been with a lot of women. I'm not going to lie about that. I've had sex probably a hundred times. And do you know how many times actually mattered to me?"

He saw Rachel shake her head slightly. "Not one. I never cared about any of those women. I was trying to; I don't even know what I was trying to do with them. Pretend that someone cared? I don't know. But listen when I tell you this. I have never. Ever. Felt like this about another person in my life. I love you. Those aren't empty words when I say them, Rach." He reached out to take her hand again, and this time she didn't stop him.

"Everything I am is yours. I can't make love to you without knowing that you'll be making love to me, too. When we are finally together, it's going to be a first for me, too. I've never done these things out of love before and I want you to be my first for that. Does that…. Does that even make any sense? God, I'm such a girl." He closed his eyes and let his head bang against the steering wheel.

When all he heard was silence, he wanted to die of embarrassment. _This was what comes of opening up to someone. Humiliation. _

"That makes complete sense." Her voice was so soft Puck thought that he imagined it for a moment. "You have no idea how much. And it makes me feel about two inches tall for being so selfish. "

"You're not selfish" He picked his head up off the steering wheel and looked at her, his eyes pleading for understanding. "You just can't possibly imagine how much I love you. How much you mean to me. You pulled me out of a really black place, Rach. Before you, nothing mattered to me really. I had dreams and hopes, but I was starting to operate on autopilot. If it weren't for you, I don't know…" His voice trailed off and he realized he didn't have any words to tell her how he felt.

"Oh, Noah." Rachel scooted across the seat to put her arms around him. "You have no idea how much you mean to me, too. You're my knight in shinning armor. I would be so lost without you." They stayed there holding on to each other for minutes that felt like hours - or maybe it was hours that felt like minutes.

"Ok, enough with the self-pity." Puck reluctantly pulled himself from Rachel's arms. "We need to get to school. Unless you want to ditch for a serious make-out session." Puck waggled his eyebrows at Rachel.

"You are incorrigible!" She swatted him playfully and rested her head on his shoulder as he put the truck in drive.

* * *

"Finn. What's up?" Puck shut his locker and swung a play punch at Finn's shoulder.

"I feel like I'm walking through a fishbowl. There's a lot to be said for home schooling, ya' know?" Finn scratched his head and shot a glare at some freshman who were whispering and pointing.

"I've been looking into it myself. How you feeling?" Dread curled around his stomach as he waited for Finn's answer. He was still feeling super guilty about putting Finn in this position in the first place. The longer he kept quiet, the worse things got.

"Better. And I have to tell you that the crap they try to pass off on you in the hospital is way worse than cafeteria food. Go figure." Finn shot Puck a crooked smile and the dread in Puck's belly lessened a bit.

"Makes you look forward to sloppy joe day, huh?" Feeble as jokes went, but what else was he going to say to the boy who got his face bashed as a result of Puck's idiocy.

"Yeah, kinda. Quinn's supposed to be coming home from the hospital today." Finn shut his locker and shifted nervously.

"Oh, yeah?" Was it imagination or did Finn look like he was about to shit himself?

"Yeah. She wants to 'talk' after school." Finn cleared his throat and shifted some more.

"She say about what?" _Oh god. Was she going to tell him?_ Puck kind of felt like shitting himself right now, too.

"Naw. I have to say it makes me a bit nervous." Feeble attempt at a smile from Finn.

Puck managed to unglue his tongue from his mouth, which had gone unaccountably dry and managed, "Just make sure there are no music stands around and you should be fine."

The boys shared a nervous laugh and headed to class.

* * *

"Hey gorgeous." Puck slid his arms around Rachel as she stood at her locker. He was going to tell her. He was. Right now. He had to. She had to hear it from him before Quinn told anyone. It would be a shitstorm, but infinitely better than if she heard the news from someone else.

"Hey". Her smile lit her face and warmed him like the sun on a spring day as she turned to face him. Yup. He was going to tell her right this second if he could only get his mouth to cooperate.

"Have you heard anything about Santana? Noah? NOAH?" He felt Rachel nudging him and abruptly came back to reality.

"Wha? Uh. No, not yet. According to her mom she's still the same. Hasn't woken up yet." Tell her. Tell her now!

"Should we go visit her tomorrow?" Rachel shut her locker and took his hand.

"Yeah. Yeah, we should absolutely do that." Damn, he was such a chicken shit.

* * *

Santana couldn't remember much after being launched in the air. She thought she woke up for a few minutes but everything was so fuzzy that she couldn't focus. She heard someone crying and saw a lot of white. Everything smelled funny, too.

The first clear memory she had was Artie. She opened her eyes and everything was clear for the first time in she wasn't sure how long. He was parked in the corner of the room looking at some sort of book or something.

"Artie? What are you doing here? And also, where the hell am I?" Her hand went to her hair automatically. _Oh god! I must look awful!_

"Santana?" Artie's attention snapped away from the guitar magazine he had been reading to her in an instant. "You're awake! I should call someone." He began to wheel himself to the door.

"No!" The imperious tone in her voice froze him in place. "You're not going anywhere until you tell me what you're doing here and where the hell …here is." She gestured vaguely at the white walls and super awesome 80's watercolors that adorned the walls.

"Ok," he said slowly. "I'm here to visit you while you mom gets something to eat and 'here' is the hospital."

This took a moment to process. "The hospital? Why am I in the hospital?" _Although that would explain all these wires and the K-mart special sheets I'm laying on. What is this, .2 thread count?_

Artie cleared his throat and looked at her intently before replying. "You were at cheer practice and I guess something went wrong with one of the stunts. They threw you and you fell. Hard." He cleared his throat again and seemed to be choosing his words very carefully. "You've been out for a couple of days."

"The basket. It was off. I remember. God, could they have put me in a more uncomfortable position here? This bed feels like rocks. "Santana squirmed for a minute. Some thing was wrong. Other than her being in a gross bed wearing a heinous gown and feeling like she hadn't bathed for years. Her legs weren't working.

_Oh my GOD. Her legs weren't working. _

Her eyes widened in alarm and she looked to Artie.

"Artie, what's going on? Why can't I move?" Panic was starting to set in. She could feel it clawing at the edges of her consciousness.

She watched Artie shift uncomfortably. "Maybe I should call your mom back from the cafeteria." There was hesitation in his voice.

"No." The panic was gaining more and more. "I asked you a question. I want an answer. Why can't I move?"

He shook his head and looked at the floor. "Santana. I think the doctor would be better prepared to answer…"

Panic was crawling up her throat now. "I want _you_ to explain it. What. Is. Wrong. With. Me."

She watched him let his breath out slowly and look her in the eye for the first time since she had woken. It may have even been for the first time ever. "When you fell, you fractured your pelvis and several vertebrates. You're paralyzed from the waist down right now. It may be permanent. The doctors have to reevaluate once the swelling goes down some." Artie looked at her apprehensively.

Santana sat in shock for a moment. The she felt a very inappropriate response to this news building. She tried to force it down, but somehow it kept rising in her chest. A giggle escaped her lips. Then another. Before she knew it she was laughing to hard that she was crying. _Am I loosing my mind? I wonder if this is how Quinn felt before she lost it at Glee practice._

_

* * *

_

Rachel was propped up on Puck's bead looking through one of his engineering magazines. "I don't understand how you can read these. They're so boring." She wrinkled her nose in distaste and let the magazine drop.

"Well, I don't understand how you can read 'Playbill' and all of those other theater magazines until you have each issue memorized," He replied as he crawled onto the bed next to her. "Somehow you manage to make it sexy, though," now he was nibbling her neck and enjoying her try to squirm away from him as she giggled.

"You say that about everything I do Noah," she was still trying to get away from him. He stopped his nibbling and held onto her more firmly.

"That's because it's true." He laid his head on her shoulder. "Let's go for a walk."

"What?" Rachel sat up half laughing for this total non-sequitur. "Really? It's freezing!"

"Yeah, but then we can come back and snuggle. I'll even watch South Pacific with you again." Puck pulled out all the stops and made his puppy dog eyes at her. It worked every time.

"Ok, but only if there is hot chocolate involved." She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. _Yes! Score again for the eyes._

"I think I can swing that." He grinned as he pulled her to her feet. He snagged two sweat shirts from his closed and pulled the first down over Rachel's head, effectively plastering her long hair to her face.

"Honestly, Noah! I'm capable of dressing my self. Much more so than you, apparently." She shoved her arms through the sleeves and pulled her hair free of the shirt.

"Sorry. Most of the time when I'm thinking about you and clothes, it's how to take them off of you, not how to put them on." He snagged her around the waist and planted a kiss on her nose.

Rachel swatted at him and rolled up the sleeves of the shirt. "Where are we going?"

"The park, I guess. I just want to spend some time with my girl." _And work up the courage to tell you._ God! He was so sounding like the sound track to Rent.

* * *

They had circled the park three times and Puck still hadn't managed to make his mouth form the words. He could imagine himself saying it. It was very clear in his mind. _Rach, I love you but I have to tell you something that is going to hurt you. Probably a lot. I am the father of Quinn's baby. I have wanted to tell you for months but have been way too much of a pansy._

There, see? Easy as pie. But somehow every time he started to tell her, his tongue felt like it was coated in saw dust and he found himself talking about something weird and unrelated. Like his obsession with 'Hong Kong Phooey'. Fan-frickin-rific.

Finally, _finally_ he opened his mouth and he felt the words starting to come. And then the sky, which had been dark and threatening all day, opened up and started pouring rain all over them. _Shit!_

He watched Rachel's face, which had been serious, mirroring his, change into disbelief, then to startled laughter. She grabbed his hand and then they were running and laughing, jumping in puddles like happy children. Rachel turned to look at him, her wet hair swinging around her face, her smile bright and care free. He had never seen her look so beautiful. Finally breathless, the arrived hand in hand on his front porch. He had to try several times to unlock the door because he was so cold he was shaking.

He finally managed it on his third attempt and they tumbled into the house, banging the door shut behind them still laughing.

"C'mon. I need to get you into some dry clothes before you freeze. He pulled her up the stairs and into his room. He began to pull clothes out of his dresser. "Let me get you some sweats and you can shower if you…"

" Noah." He turned to look at her and felt his heart leap. There was something about the way she was looking at him. Oh God.

"I have to tell you something. I just realized it. Just realized it, but it's been so all along. Ever since that day in the auditorium. I've been so stupid. Noah…" She was breathless and looking at him in wonder.

He knew what she was going to say. He could see it radiating out of her like he summer sun. And he couldn't let her say it. It wasn't fair. He couldn't let her speak until he told her about the baby.

"Rachel stop. Please stop. Don't say anything yet. I have to tell you something first. You might change your mind after you hear it." He swallowed once and then let it all out. Everything he wanted to say for months. How he was mad at Finn for joining Glee; how he had gotten drunk thinking that would solve something; how Quinn showed up as angry as he was; how much he wanted the baby; how Quinn threatened him with telling everyone it was rape to silence him. All of it.

As he spoke, he saw the joy fade out of her face, but she didn't speak and she didn't move. When he was finally done, she still hadn't moved.

"Rachel? Please say something." He was holding his breath and he swore he could feel time slow down.

He watched as she turned and ran. She was so graceful, her hair fanning out behind her, turning almost as thought she were in ballet class. He couldn't seem to make a move to stop her. Then he heard, from what seemed like a great distance, the front door slam and her car start.

When he heard her drive away, his knees buckled and he found himself on the floor. He knew what was coming. He knew the symptoms. He was about to do something that he hadn't done since the day his father had left. Puck dropped his head into his hands and cried.


	11. Chapter 11

**Wow, you have all been so kind in your reviews. I wasn't sure if there would be any interest left in my story after it sat neglected for so long, but I am rendered speechless by all the nice things you have had to say. Thanks again!**

**I probably won't be able to update for at least a week. My schedule's looking pretty hairy at this point. I'll be back as soon as I can, though.**

**And now dear friends once more into the breach…..**

**Ch. 11**

**_Their piercing sounds fill my ears try to fill me with doubt_**

"Ok, I would like to know what in the HELL is going on. It's like everyone had lost their minds!" Mercedes reached into the bag of Pirate's Booty that she and Kurt were sharing on the front lawn of the school.

"More drama than an episode if Project Runway." Kurt shook his head sagely.

"I know right? Worse than when Jay let loose on that model and …." Mercedes trailed off. She always got sucked in by Project Runway gossip, but this was neither the time nor the place. "Okay, wait back on topic. We need to hash everything out so we can figure out how to fix all this crap before sectionals. I am not letting all this bull affect our chances of winning!"

"Right-o! So, item #1. Puck and Rachel." Kurt held up one finger and munched more Booty.

"I don't understand how it is possible that they broke up. Plus we can't get either of them to say a word about it." Mercedes lowered her eyebrows into a scowl.

"All I know is Rachel has been uncharacteristically silent and Puck is walking around here looking like death warmed over. We have got to get those two back together before they die of broken hearts."

"Ok." Mercedes nodded her head. "I'll take Puck, you take Rachel."

"Why cant' I take Puck?" Kurt stuck out his lower lip in a pout.

"Because you'll waste all your time flirting with him." Mercedes gave him a pointed look.

"True," Kurt conceded. "Ok, item #2 Quinn is nuts."

"Do you think she's really nuts or is it just baby hormones?"

"Could be either. Though so much time spent in that god awful polyester cheer uniform would be enough to drive anyone crazy. Look at Coach Sylvester." Kurt made a 'crazy' motion beside his head.

"True." Mercedes had to laugh. "We should research pregnancy hormones and mood swings on the internet."

"Item #3 Santana" Kurt frowned as he held the empty bag of Pirate's Booty upside down. Mercedes took it from him and crumpled it into a ball.

"Well, we can't do much about that one. Girlfriend is out of commission for the time being."

"She did say that the doctors might clear her to at least be in a wheelchair by the end of the week." Kurt offered hopefully.

"Then maybe she can come back to rehearsal. That should cheer he up." Mercedes began to rummage through her purse for another bag of Pirate's Booty.

"Doesn't she seem to be taking this whole paralysis thing eerily well, though?" Mercedes stopped mid-rummage to consider Kurt's question.

"The thought had crossed my mind." She confessed.

"Do you think she's as loony toones as Quinn?" Kurt's eyes lit up as Mercedes emerged triumphantly with a fresh bag.

"She had been wearing that Cheerio uniform for a long, long time too." They popped the bag open and considered the implications while the munched.

"Hmmmmm…."

"Ok, item #4 Artie" Kurt swallowed.

"He's been spending an awful lot of time with Santana." Mercedes pointed out.

"Do you think he's offering support, or do you think he might like her?" Kurt asked with an air of surprise. This was a state of affairs that neither of they had thought of before.

"I don't know, but he's barely had time for anything other than her since the accident." The pair shrugged in unison. They'd have to figure that one out later.

"Which brings us to item #5 Tina." Kurt took advantage of the fifth item on the list for jazz hands. There's always time for jazz hands.

"She is not taking this whole Artie/Santana thing well." Mercedes rolled her eyes at his antics.

"She's not taking this whole breakup thing well." Kurt added.

"The girl is obviously not sleeping well." Mercedes added.

"I know her bags have bags." Kurt shuddered. "And not Louis Vuitton ones, either."

"We should talk to her." Mercedes concluded. "And bring her some eye cream."

"And _finally_ item #6 Matt."

"He is obviously smitten with Tina." Mercedes pointed out.

"And she isn't really noticing." Kurt shook his head mournfully.

"How are we going to fix that one?" Mercedes raised her eyebrows in question.

"Uh…." Kurt bit his lip.

"Ok, not helpful." Mercedes wacked him the bag.

"Ow. Ok, ok. Arranged date?" Kurt held up his hands to deflect anymore blows.

"It has possibilities," Mercedes responded thoughtfully.

"God. This is so exhausting. I need to exfoliate." Kurt flopped back on the lawn.

"Keep your moisturizer on Beyonce." Mercedes got to her feet and held out her hand to Kurt. "We need to get started on our list."

"But Mercedes….." Kurt closed his eyes and whined.

"No buts. I'm going to try to find Puck and then later we'll take a trip to see Santana at the hospital." Kurt gave in and let Mercedes haul him to his feet.

"What am I going to be doing while you're talking to the god of gorgeous pecs?"Pulling out a mirror Kurt was inspecting his hair for any signs of damage.

"See if you can find Tina and start chatting her up about Matt and Artie," Mercedes relied brushing the grass off her jeans.

"Yes ma'am." Kurt mock saluted.

Thank God at least Mike and Brittany are low maintenance." Mercedes sighed as they made their way to the school building.

"Wow." Kurt stopped. "Did you ever think that the words Brittany and low maintenance would be used in the same sentence?"

"It's a sad, sad world my friend." They parted, shaking their heads in disbelief.

* * *

Puck felt numb. That was a godsend, because he didn't even want to think about how much he was going to hurt once reality set in. She was gone. Rachel was gone. And it was his fault.

He been leaning up against his locker for the past fifteen minutes listening to Mercedes hold a very animated and completely one-sided conversation about his recent breakup. He appreciated the effort his friend was putting into trying to fix things, but there was no way she was even close to understanding why Rachel had left him. And he couldn't tell her.

There was no way he could let another person know without telling Quinn first. He was going to have to tell her soon, because he wasn't entirely sure what Rachel was going to do with the information. He had to let Quinn know in case Rachel didn't keep this to herself.

"And seriously, you two are perfect for each other. Just forget what ever annoying thing Rachel has done, or just apologize for whatever blockheaded thing you've done and get over it. We really don't' want to see you two walking around here adding to the general drama by looking like you've only got a week to live."

"I wish is were that easy. Look, we're going to be late for Glee" Puck pushed himself off his locker and waited for Mercedes to join him before taking off for the choir room. He knew that being so close to Rachel for the next 45 minutes would be nothing but torture, but he couldn't skip it either. They had a lot to work through since they were missing both Quinn and Santana. Mr. Schue would blow a gasket if he was missing too.

As he entered the room, the sight of Rachel sitting there stopped him in his tracks and took his breath away. She looked up at him and when their eyes met, Puck felt a jolt to his heart like it had just started beating again after being still for way too long. But then she dropped her eyes and he felt his heart go still again. It was over. His comforting blanket of numbness was starting to dissolve.

He finally uprooted his feet and took a seat far from Rachel, where she was blocked from his sight by Brittany and Kurt. He could only keep his sanity intact by pretending she wasn't there. Too bad he was failing miserably.

"Ok, everybody I know this has been a tough time, but we need to work through this and move forward. I'd like to welcome Finn back. Also, Quinn will be returning to school tomorrow. I spoke to her parents today and they assure me that she will definitely be coming back to school as planned. Also, some good news about Santana. The doctor's are starting to wean her off of her pain meds and the swelling is beginning to diminish, so she may be able to leave the hospital in the next few weeks. In the meantime, I have an assignment for everyone…..

Puck let his thoughts drift as Mr. Schue began to talk business. He couldn't wait for practice to end.

* * *

Finally. Puck leaned against the front door. He had shut out the outside noise and the sunlight. All the curtains were still drawn from last night and he made no move to open them. He wanted the darkness right now. The sun seemed like an affront to the pain raging inside him. His security blanket of numbness had completely eroded by the time practice had ended. Even though he couldn't see Rachel from his vantage point, just knowing that she was so close but completely unattainable had torn him to bits.

Mr. Shue had instructed everyone to pair up for duets and Rachel had immediately grabbed the first person at hand with out even glancing at him. So he had spent the rest of the time trying to watch as she sang with Mike, while Mercedes took pity on him and took up most of the slack. He pushed away from the door and headed for the kitchen and the whisky bottle.

* * *

Rachel paused outside Quinn's bedroom door. Quinn's mother had seemed delighted that someone was here to visit her daughter. Quinn must be in short supply of friends these days, but she was hard pressed to call herself Quinn's friend. Still standing here outside Quinn's door like some creeper was not accomplishing anything. With a sigh Rachel knocked firmly before she could change her mind.

At the sound of the watery "Come in." Rachel paused. Did she really want to do this? Yes, yes she did. She resolutely turned the knob and opened the door.

Quinn took one look at her and began trying to covertly wipe away the tears on her face. She wasn't fooling anyone, but she still was trying to put up a front.

"What are you doing here man-hands?" It was a familiar insult but it lacked the usual scathing feeling behind it.

"I came to talk Quinn." Rachel sat on the overstuffed wing chair by Quinn's bed and folded her hands in her lap.

"Great. Everyone wants to talk. You, the doctors, my parents, our pastor. Just frickin' fabulous. Yes, please let's talk." Quinn's bitter tone changed in to a mocking one as she continued, "So, did you see that rerun of Dawson's Creek the other day?"

"What?" Rachel's brow furrowed as she looked at the other girl.

"Well, you said you wanted to talk. You didn't say about what." Quinn shrugged and looked away.

"Funny." Rachel kept her gaze leveled at Quinn.

"Oh, yeah, I'm a laugh riot lately." Quinn sighed.

"Quinn, he told me." Rachel took in Quinn's stricken look and felt sympathy begin to stir in her chest.

"Who?" Quinn decided to play dumb even though she knew the answer to her own question.

"Puck told me that he is the father of your baby." Rachel was not buying the dumb act for one second.

"Oh, god." Quinn felt tears beginning to gather in her eyes and tried to will them away.

"He also told me how much he wants his little girl and that you are refusing to let him have anything to do with her," Rachel continued calmly.

Quinn lost the battle and felt the tears begin to fall.

"He also told me what you threatened him with to keep him silent." Even the sympathy Rachel was feeling couldn't keep the anger out of her voice when she recalled the desperation in Noah's voice when he told her.

There was a long silence. Finally in a small voice Quinn said, "You must think I'm a terrible person."

"I don't think that. I just don't understand why."

"I can't even really explain it to my self. Puck and I don't love each other. This was a mistake. When I found out…. All I could think about was Finn. I _do_ love him. I love him so much it hurts. When I found out I was so devastated. Finn asked me what was wrong and I told him. He asked how. He didn't accuse me of cheating, he just didn't understand how I could be pregnant when we'd never... And before I knew it I heard myself telling him some stupid story about hot tubs and sperm. He believed me. And then I thought maybe everything would be ok. We could be a family. I never thought that Puck would want to have anything to do with this. I figured he'd be relieved that he wouldn't have to deal anything. When he kept trying to get involved, I figured he just wanted to cause trouble. That he'd break me and Finn up and then dump me with all the responsibility." Quinn's voice broke.

Rachel made a noise of protest, and Quinn continued, "You don't understand. No one has seen this side of Puck. Not before you two started spending time together. I can believe him now when he says that he wants to be involved with his daughter. Before, I just thought he wanted to hurt us all. But now, this has all gone on for so long. It's gotten so big. I don't know how to stop it."

"You have to tell everyone." Rachel leaned forward and reached for Quinn's hand.

"You mean tell Finn, so he can be free of me? So you can get your hands on him?" Quinn shook free of Rachel and glared.

"I actually had not thought about Finn at all in all of this." As the words left her mouth Rachel realized that they were true. When had she stopped caring about Finn?

"Wow." Quinn laughed a little. "You must really love him."

"Who?" Rachel was confused. Didn't she just tell Quinn she didn't care for Finn any longer?

"Duh. Puck." Quinn rolled her eyes.

"No. We aren't together anymore. I don't love him." Rachel shook her head firmly. She was _not_ having this conversation with Quinn.

"Really? Well, you just spent a whole lot of time fighting for someone that you don't love." Quinn folded her arms over her chest and directed a look of disbelief at Rachel.

Rachel shook her head again. "I just want to see what's best for everyone."

"Right man-hands. What ever gets you through the day." Sarcasm was dripping from Quinn's voice.

"I really hate when you call me that."Rachel sighed.

"Yeah, I know. That's why I do it." The sarcasm was still there, now accompanied by a self satisfied smirk.

"You are really a bitch sometimes."Rachel was aghast at the sudden shift in the conversation.

"I know that too. Can you please get out now? I realize that my popularity is pretty much nonexistent right now, but I'm still higher up on the scale than you are and I don't want you to bring me down." Quinn shook her hair back and looked defiantly at Rachel.

"Happy to oblige." Rachel left with out another work, shaking her head.

* * *

Shit. He was out of whisky. Puck had just reached the bottom of the second bottle of Jack. He flung it aside with disgust and headed out of the kitchen. He navigated the steps to his room only falling twice, which he thought was pretty awesome.

He walked into his room, but stumbled over a pair of shoes that he had left in the middle of the floor. He lurched and caught himself heavily against his dresser. He looked up and straight at Rachel. And Rachel. And Rachel. Shit. All the pictures of them together that she had plastered all over his mirror. Fuck. There was the picture of them that Kurt had taken after one Glee class. They were laughing at something; he didn't even know what now. But he had his arm around her shoulders and his face half buried in her hair. She had her arms around him and they were both cracking up. There was the picture of them at the Homecoming dance. The night he first realized he loved her. There was the picture of them with Kurt and Mercedes at Cedar Point. Their first road trip. They all had wanted to go one last time before the park closed for the season, so they packed some snacks and traveling music and hit the road. And about a million more pictures. All mocking him from his mirror. What he had and had lost. Because Quinn was right. He was a fucking Lima Loser.

Puck felt despair and rage building in his chest. He tore the mirror from the wall and threw it against his desk. He didn't care when the mirror shattered and showered him and the carpet with broken glass. He didn't even notice.

He was on his knees now and he could feel sobs starting to rack his body. "No. No." He pushed himself to his feel and stumbled out of his room and back down the steps, half falling. He couldn't get away. Everywhere he went there were reminders of her. Cd's in the living room, a sweater in the dining room. Books on the kitchen counter. Fuck. FUCK.

He had nothing. Rachel was gone. He'd never be able to raise his daughter. He had fucked everything up royally and he had nothing left. Nothing. His wild gaze fell on the hall table. On the right hand drawer. He walked over to it and pulled it open. He was suddenly calm. He knew how he could fix this. He pulled out the object that rested underneath some third class junk mail. Still there. The .22 that his mother bought just after his father walked out on them. Just in case. Puck checked the magazine. Still loaded, safety on.

He placed the gun carefully on the tabletop and considered. This was the way out. If there was nothing left to live for, why keep living? It seemed like a waste. It would be quick. Maybe painless, although that was the least of his worries right now. He could do it. He would. He picked the gun up. Clicked off the safety. Raised the gun to his mouth. No point in missing and becoming a vegetable. He raised his eyes calmly. This would be his last memory before….and then he saw it.

The picture hanging on the wall. It had been there for years, but Puck rarely paid attention to it. It had just always been there. His mother. Much younger. Less gray in her hair. Without the lines that time had begun to etch in her face. She was smiling. Beaming really. Radiating pure happiness. She was holding him as a newborn. Suddenly he knew that he couldn't do this. No matter how much his life sucked right now, he did have something to live for. His mother. And his daughter. That would be him with her one day. He knew it. He would fight Quinn tooth and nail for her. His baby. His life.

Puck lowered the gun. Put the safety back on and placed the gun back in the drawer. He pulled out his phone and dialed the one person he knew he could count on right now.

"San? San it's me." Suddenly sobs began to escape and he couldn't stop them. "I need help."

* * *

"Ok, every one. I just want to welcome Quinn back. It's great to see you looking so well rested and…" Mr. Scheuster trailed off.

"Sane?" Quinn supplied.

"Um." Quinn stood up and walked over to the piano where Mr. Scheuster was standing.

"Mr. Schue, if you don't mind I have an announcement to make."

"Sure. Absolutely. "Mr. Schue stepped back looking slightly relieved.

Quinn cleared her throat nervously and looked around the room.

"I know I really freaked everyone out a few days ago. I freaked myself out. I still can't really explain what…and Finn I'm really sorry. I'm sorry for a lot of things, but we'll talk about that later if you don't hate me by the time I'm done."

Quinn took a deep breath before continuing. "The doctor's diagnosed me as bi-polar. That's what's been causing my mood swings and overall craziness. When I snapped, they say the imbalance just got too much. Anyway, they put me on some medicine, but they have to monitor me really closely because most medicine that is effective for bi-polar is bad for the baby. On the other hand, if I don't have it I could end up hurting myself and the baby. Or someone else. Hello catch-22."

"There's something else I need to say. I want to say it to all of you because it's affected all of you and I need to apologize for how selfish I've been. It's been hurtful to everyone, but especially to two people. I can't say how sorry I am. And maybe saying this in front of everyone is selfish to, but I can't help it. I'm too afraid to d it any other way." Quinn looked over at Rachel who nodded her head approvingly. Quinn nodded back before continuing.

"Finn isn't the father of this baby. Puck is."

Dead silence greeted this announcement. No one moved or reacted. Quinn began to panic and rushed back into speech.

"We were both drunk and mad at Finn and it just happened. Afterwards, I lied. I was scared and selfish and I didn't want to face the consequences or to loose you Finn. I made Puck promise not to tell. I even threatened to tell everyone he raped me if he told the truth. I've ruined everything for so many people. Me, Puck, Finn Rachel. I…I am so sorry. I hope you can forgive me. Finn…."

Finn had sat shell shocked through Quinn's speech. When he heard his name his eyes met Quinn's and he got up and walked out of the room.

* * *

Will hadn't realized how tough this job would be when he became a teacher. He loved it. He did. And he loved coaching Glee club. But, wow, things had really changed since he was in high school. Had he really been so naive that he thought that everything would be easy?

Yesterday had been one of the scariest days of his life. He had been sitting at home, flipping through channels mindlessly when the phone had rung. He couldn't imagine who it could be. He had made it clear to Terry that he wanted no contact with her. Emma still hated him after the whole 'slut' episode and he had recently come to the depressing realization that he had no friends. He figured it must be a wrong number as he answered the phone.

He had been surprised beyond words to hear Santana's frantic voice on the line.

"Santana? What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes. I'm fine. But Puck's not. He just called me. He just tried to kill himself and I can leave this damn bed. Mr. Schue, you have to get over there before he changes him mind and really does something. Please..."

Will had rushed to Puck's driving his shitty car as fast as it would go. When he had arrived, he found the front door unlocked and Puck drunk and sobbing on the floor. Unsure what else to do, he held the boy until he was cried out. Over the coarse of the next few hours Puck had brokenly poured out the whole story of Quinn, the baby, Rachel, Finn, his dad, why he had wanted to die. Will didn't think he had done much good, but by the time he left Puck was asleep and Will was convinced that Puck wouldn't try to harm himself again.

After he had called to reassure Santana that everything was fine, Will had sacked out on the couch completely exhausted. He had prayed that the next day would be uneventful so that he could regain his equilibrium and figure out a way to help his kids. His prayer had been granted right up until Glee practice started.

Before he started practice Will had ostensibly been sorting sheet music, but he was actually looking at the kids taking mental notes. Puck looked like shit. There was really no other way to put it, but that wasn't too surprising considering last night's events. Rachel looked drawn and pale and very determined. Tina was sporting some really dark bags under her eyes and looked like she hadn't been acquainted with sleep for some time. Matt looked nearly as bad as Tina. Quinn alone looked calm and serene, sitting quietly with her hand resting gently on her stomach. Then she had gotten up and dropped her bombshell on everyone. So much for his uneventful day.

God, and he thought he had it rough as a teenager. These kids were living in hell. He just wished he knew how to help them.

* * *

"Man, I always miss the good stuff." Santana let out an exasperated breath.

"Funny." Artie rolled his eyes.

"I think so. I've been using all of my spare time to polish my stand up comedian skills." Santana stuck her tongue out at him. "So, what happened after Finn left?"

Artie settles back into his chair. "Well, Quinn started to cry, so Brittany hauls her off to a corner of the room and everyone's just starting at Puck, who's looking at his shoes and not saying anything. They Rachel picks all her stuff up and leaves. Mr. Schue cancels practice and practically runs for the door. We're all just sitting here when Finn charges back in the room and tackles Puck off his chair. He starts wailing on him and Puck's not doing anything to stop him. So, Mike and Matt have to pull Finn off of Puck and Finn's yelling at Puck telling him he's a dead man and then he's yelling at Quinn and saying she's a slut and they're over."

"Geez." Santana was stunned just from picturing the scene in her head. She couldn't imagine how it must have been in reality.

"Wait, there's more. Mike and Matt had to actually throw Finn out of the school building and threatened to call the cops if he didn't leave. So Quinn's having hysterics and Mercedes and Britt are trying to calm her down and Puck's bleeding all over the floor. Mike and Kurt finally had to pick him up and cart him off to the emergency room. Oh, by the way, he says he'll be up when they're done patching up his face." Artie glanced over at her and smiled.

"Lovely. Maybe we could get adjoining rooms. Then I'd have someone to keep me company." Santana bit her lip.

"I come to see you ever day," Artie said quietly.

"I know. I appreciate that. A lot." Santana attempted a smile, but it didn't feel very convincing. She did appreciate Artie being around. She loved having him there, but there were a lot of hours during the day when he couldn't be there.

"It must be lonely, though," He was giving her this sympathetic gaze that was turning her heart to mush.

"Yeah. I know that my parents have to get back to work, and you guys have school and stuff, but it still sucks." She could feel tears of self-pity beginning to gather and ruthlessly crushed them. She WOULD NOT cry.

"How have you been feeling today?" Artie was giving her that look that she loved and it made it easier to crush the tears. It was the look that made her feel special and beautiful even though she was stuck in bed and hadn't worn makeup in weeks.

"Weird. I hate this morphine drip they have me on. It makes me itchy." Santana wrinkled her nose and sighed.

"Have the doctor's been by yet?"

"Yeah, they came by a few hours ago." She couldn't help but sigh again when she thought about the stupid doctors and their stupid visit.

"So, what do they say?" Artie was looking at her expectantly.

"Same as before. The surgery they did when they brought me in went well, blah, blah. Mildly burst lower lumbar vertebrae, blah blah. Healing nicely, blah blah. Hopeful of full recovery but we'll have to wait and see, blah blah." Santana felt her voice take on a sarcastic edge.

"Santana come on." Artie's voice was gentle and his voice held concern. It made her feel like crap for getting nasty.

"I know. Sorry. I'm a fast healer so my surgical incisions are almost healed and my pelvic fracture is mending well. They say my vertebrae are stable with the pins they put in. They may let me go home next week with the appropriate compression braces and maybe back to school part time the week after."

"You can come back to school in two weeks? Santana that's great! Why don't you look so happy, though?" Artie was watching her closely.

"They still don't know about the paralysis, Artie. My spinal column is still too bruised. What if, what if it's permanent? What will I do?" She could feel the self-pity tears coming back.

"You'll deal. You're strong Santana. I know. I've seen it the past three weeks. No matter what, you'll deal and look gorgeous doing it."

She couldn't help but smile at that. Hearing him call her gorgeous lessened the dread that had made permanent camp in her stomach since she woke up in the hospital.

"How do you deal Artie? Aren't you mad? Scared? I am most of the time. But sometimes I'm not. I feel numb. Or like this is some crazy comedy that I'm watching someone else go through. I can't help but laugh sometimes, even though this is so not funny."

"I know what you mean. After I got released from the hospital I thought I was going crazy. One minute I was angry, the next I was hysterically laughing. My parent's though I was cracking up too, so they took me to a shrink. He said I was just reacting to the trauma and everything would adjust itself eventually. He said it was post traumatic stress disorder. You know, like the guys in the military get. You can always talk to someone, Santana. You probably should." He was looking at her with a searching expression that made her feel suddenly shy.

"I talk to you," She replied softly.

"You can always talk to me. I'm here for you."

Santana held her breath as Artie reached out to take her hand. He was tracing circles on her palm with his thumb and it was leaving her breathless and lightheaded. She swallowed to try to clear her head, but all the air was leaving the room and her vision was fading until all she could see was him.

"Artie?" She could barely talk above a whisper. She wanted to beg him to touch her more, but before the words could leave her mouth he reached over to brush some hair away from her face. His hand caressed her cheek and she closed her eyes as tingles engulfed her body. Then she felt it. His lips were brushing her cheek. She turned her head so that her lips collided with his and felt him jerk in surprise. She quickly wound her arms around his neck so that he wouldn't pull away. Then he was kissing her back, they were clinging to each other desperately as thought they never wanted this to end. Electricity was coursing through her body and her skin was on fire where he was touching her. For the first time since she awoke, she wasn't aware of her achiness, of stiffness or anything. Only Artie. He was better than any drug they had given her.

* * *

Beating the crap out of a punching bag was good for the soul. This had been a strong belief of Matt's since they day he was ten and his grandfather had died. When his mother had told him the news, Matt had turned away from her without a word and headed into the basement. He had stood there for ages, with a horrible ache twisted inside his stomach. He wasn't even sure why, but he had headed for the ancient bag that his dad had bought in one of his short lived fitness crazes and began swinging. Afterwards, Matt considered it divine intervention. He beat on the bag until his knuckles spit open and the knot of pain and despair had dissolved into tears. When he was done he felt better. Still sad, but purged. Ready to deal with reality. It had been his go-to ever since.

So here he was now. Life kinda sucked. His parents were probably headed for a divorce. His best friend was in the hospital, paralyzed maybe for good, and the girl he was pretty sure he loved was hung up on someone else. This was all running too deep to talk to Mike about, so here he was. With every punch he pictured beating the shit out of each problem.

If his parents got divorced, they got divorced. He couldn't do a fucking thing about it. He just wished they would stop using him as an excuse to fight with each other. "Not my fault, not my fault," he said over and over to himself. If he said it often enough, maybe he could believe it.

Santana would come home from the hospital eventually. She would be ok. He'd just have to be there for her no matter what. If she never walked again he would make sure she knew his friendship was strings free. He'd stick by her till the end. He'd carry her to class if he had to. He would never, never turn away from her because under her bitchy ice queen behavior he had seen the real girl. The one who was scared and easily hurt, the one who kept people at a distance so she could protect herself. The one who was really shy but would cut off her right arm before she would admit it. The one who was fiercely loyal to the few real friends she had. The one who loved with out boundaries and was crazy and talented and smart. He knew her, really knew her and he would go to the mattresses for her any day of the week.

And Tina. He would have to fight for Tina. He'd been hanging out with her almost everyday listening to her, supporting her, understanding and caring about her broken heart. But damn it, she didn't see him as a guy. She saw him as another girlfriend. She couldn't see that crying in his arms over another guy was destroying him. Well, he wanted her and he was going to have her. He wasn't sure how, but he would make his girl wake up and see that he was a man worth having. Damn it!

Exhausted, Matt finally sank to the floor, tears running down his face. Oh, yeah. That was better. He felt clean and calm again. Somehow he could deal. He would fix this.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Once again, sorry for the delay but thank you for all the reviews. **_

_**Oh, yes, and I HATE that Matt is off the show. I'm going to write a letter. Damn it. I will officially be ignoring the fact that the writers are jerkfaces and keep Matt in this and all other fictions. So they can just suck it!**_

**Ch. 12**

_**Yet I know that the goal is to keep me from falling**_

"Ok, everyone! It's great to have the whole group back together again. Santana, are you sure you're not too tired? I can excuse you from the assignment that I'm planning if you need a break." Mr. Schuster paused to look over at Santana. Her eyes were bright with excitement and – if it weren't for the wheel chair that she was sitting in- he would think that everything was completely normal with the girl. She had obviously gone to great lengths to cover up the compression braces that she needed to wear to protect her back. Still, he didn't want to overload her on her first day back.

"No, I'm good Mr. Schue." Santana tried to hold back her happiness, but she knew that she was grinning from ear to ear like a geek. It was her first day back and even though she was stuck in this stupid wheel chair, it was infinitely better than the hospital or being stuck in her room at home. Alone. Ok, that wasn't entirely accurate. Since she had been released from the hospital last week, Artie's mom had stayed with her so that her parents could be at work.

She knew she shouldn't resent the fact that they couldn't be there with her, they had used up all their personal and vacation days while she was in the hospital, but still. It kinda sucked that they couldn't be there. Artie's mom was great, but Santana still couldn't help but be overjoyed that things were getting back to normal. Well, as normal as things could get when she was trapped in a freakin' wheel chair.

Santana shook off her depressing thoughts and felt the smile begin to form on her face again as Artie reached for her hand, Puck raised his hand in a 'rock on' salute and Matt dropped an arm around her shoulders giving her a loud smacking kiss on the forehead. _At least I have Artie, Matt and Puck._ As she glanced around at the other Glee members, she saw Tina glaring at her. _God, what was her problem?_

"Ok, so here it is. Duet time. I've already picked out partners, and no trading guys. I put you together for a reason. So. Santana and Tina – Mike and Mercedes – Matt and Finn – Quinn and Kurt – Brittany and Artie – and…Puck and Rachel."

Will looked up apprehensively as he announced the last couple. He had had very good reasons for putting the pairs together. They were the members that he hadn't seen make a real connection with each other. Except Puck and Rachel. That one was pure meddling on his part. He would admit it, but he knew how heartbroken Puck was about Rachel and he secretly hoped that the two could work things out together while they sang. He saw Puck's eyes flash with hope and Rachel give him an agonized look.

"Ok, everyone. Pick out a song and get to work. We'll begin hearing what you've got next Thursday. I'll be in my office if anyone needs me…" Will could read the uncertainty and downright anger on the faces of some of his students and decided it would be the better part of valor to flee now.

_Great, I have to work with a scary Goth chick who hates me. _Santana couldn't help but glare at Mr. Schue's retreating back. _Coward._

_If Cheerleader Barbie thinks she can just swoop in and take Artie away, she can just think again. _Tina stalked over to Santana and huffed out a breath as she planted herself in front of the other girl. "Come on. We'll rehearse in the auditorium." She spun around and left without waiting for a response from Santana.

Great. Santana rolled her eyes and slowly wheeled herself out after Tina. So much for Glee being the best part of her day.

Matt and Finn headed out the door discussing if they should hit McDonald's or Burger King to discuss song ideas.

Brittany and Artie were next to leave followed buy Mike and Mercedes.

Quinn and Kurt stood at the front of the room looking uneasily between Puck and Rachel. "Ok, well, we'll leave you two the choir room." Kurt said slowly, wondering it was a good idea to leave them alone at the moment.

"Yeah, ok, well bye." Quinn grabbed Kurt's hand and dragged him from the room as quickly as she could waddle.

"Geeze Mrs. Hart, would you like to leave my arm in the socket?" Kurt pulled away from her and massaged his shoulder.

"What?" Quinn stopped and gave Kurt the full benefit of her patented 'You're a Dork' glare.

"Really?" Kurt huffed out a disbelieving breath. "Mrs. Hart? From the 80's? Part of the Barbie collection. The Hart family? The knocked up one?" Quinn still looked blank and Kurt threw up his hands in despair. "Your lack of pop culture really astounds me."

"What ever Liberace." Quinn rolled her eyes. "Did you really want to stay in there with Romeo and Juliet? I didn't. I have enough drama in my life without watching those two have a romantic implosion." When Kurt didn't answer, Quinn just shook her head. "Let's go have pizza. The baby has a craving."

"Yeah right. You mean you have a craving and you're blaming it on the baby." Kurt cocked a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Very perceptive." Quinn actually felt herself smiling for the first time in weeks as she took Kurt's arm and headed towards the exit.

* * *

Puck and Rachel were still sitting in the same seats starting straight ahead at the blackboard, not speaking. Puck wasn't sure what to say. He knew that Mr. Schue was trying to help, but he wasn't naive enough to think that Rachel would forgive him just because they had to sing together. He heard Rachel shift in her seat.

"Puck." He flinched at her icy tone and the use of his nickname. "Just because we may have to sing together for this assignment, don't think that it changes anything between us."

He felt anger starting to build. He knew he had fucked up. He was more aware than anyone how much he had fucked up and how many people were paying for it. Why did Rachel have to take every opportunity to throw it in his face? "Don't worry, I won't." He coated each word with as much icy disdain as he could. "So, what are we singing?"

"I hope you don't think I'll be pulling all of the weight in this assignment. Why don't you make a suggestion?" She still wouldn't look at him. Damn it.

"Fine." He let out a breath and tried to think of a neutral song that wouldn't have him breaking down or have them at each others throats. "How about Sweet Home Alabama?"

"Really? That's your suggestion?" Rachel rolled her eyes and gave a derisive snort. "How juvenile."

_Damn it._ Puck had to take several calming breaths to keep from loosing it. She was going to make this as hard on him as possible. "Well, then what would you suggest," he asked evenly.

"I would suggest that you grow up." Rachel finally stood up and reached to grab her bag.

"Damn it Rachel, what do you want from me?" Puck was up out of his chair and in front of her before she could move any further.

"I don't want anything from you. You disgust me." She began to turn away from him, but he grabbed her shoulders and held her in place.

"Why are you doing this? Rachel I know I hurt you, but it's not like you to try to hurt someone back. I don't expect you to forgive me right this second, but I love you. You're my best friend, I can't believe that you don't care anymore." Before he could even consider if it was wise or not, he lowered his mouth to hers and then they were clinging desperately to each other, tearing at each other's cloths.

He could feel himself backing her up against the wall; feel her tearing at the buttons of his shirt as she pushed it off his shoulders. When he finally came to his senses they were half naked, and he realized that he had been about to take her against the choir room wall. And she hadn't been about to stop him.

He pulled away slightly and they stool there staring stupidly at each other, breath coming in ragged gasps. "Rachel…"

She pushed away from him and began collecting her clothes. "This doesn't mean anything. If I had had sex with you just now, it would have been a convenience and nothing more.

"That's all this would have been to you? I love you. Can you honestly say that you don't feel anything for me anymore?" If she said that she would be lying. There was no way that all of her feelings for him had disappeared just because he had screwed up. He hoped.

Rachel looked at him with what he could only describe as hate in her eyes. Seeing so much coldness where there used to be so much warmth made him begin to think that he was wrong. Maybe he really had killed any feelings she had for him.

"Really? Are you that stupid? Just because my hormones got the best of me you think that I still care about you? This won't work. I can't sing with you. I can barely tolerate being in the same room with you," Rachel spat the words at him and turned away.

Hearing the words leaving her mouth, Puck could feel his heart breaking. He couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't keep leaving himself open to getting his heart stomped on. "You're right. I guess I am that stupid. Don't worry, though. I won't make the same mistake again." He pulled his shirt back on and zipped his jeans as quickly as possible and grabbed his bag. He didn't see the sobs that started to rack Rachel's body as he stormed out of the room, slamming the door.

* * *

"So, what song are we gonna do?" Santana just wanted to get this over as quickly as possible. Tina was starting to give her the creeps.

" 'In His Eyes'." Tina looked at Santana waiting for the other girl to challenge her.

"Ok. I think I've heard that one. From Jekyll and Hyde, right?"

"Give the girl a cookie," Tina scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Ok, what it your problem? Does being bitch come naturally to you or are you practicing for the Olympic Team?" Santana was fast loosing her temper at so much derision being sent her way for no good reason.

"Like you're really one to talk. But in your case I guess being dumb goes along with being a bitch." Tina folded her arms and gave another eye roll.

"Don't make me get up out of this chair." Santana growled.

"Like you could. Here's the music," she tossed the score for the musical at Santana. "Read it over."

Santana flipped through the book and found the song she wanted. As she read the words, a frown began to gather on her face. A horrible suspicion began to dawn on her. So, this is where the 'tude was coming from. "What exactly are you hoping to accomplish here?" Santana looked up at Tina and raised her eyebrows.

"Let me spell it out for you. You want Artie. So do I. So we'll let him decide." Tina leaned back and folded her arms.

Santana didn't even bother to deny that she wanted Artie. She was done putting up false fronts. "What makes you so sure that he'll choose you?" She asked coolly.

"Please! Artie and I have history together. All you have in common in a chair."

"Fine. Bring it Morticia." Santana folded her arms across her chest as she accepted the other girls challenge.

"Anytime J-Lo." Tina shot back.

* * *

"I really can't believe that Mr. Schue thought pairing Puck and Rachel would be a good idea." Mercedes was flipping through the songs on her iPod.

"I know, right." Mike was doing the same. "How about the Ramones?" He paused at Blitzkrieg Bop and looked over at Mercedes.

"That's a little too punk for this sista to handle." Mercedes shook her head. "Anyway, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Rachel. Having to work with the boy that broke her heart. I'm voting for some Mary J."

"Uh, since when does Mary J. really lend herself to duets?" Mike looked up from his iPod with a frown. "And what do you mean, Puck broke Rachel's heart? It's more like Rachel broke Puck's heart."

"Ok, what drugs are you on?" Mercedes looked up from her iPod as well. "He lied to her and used her."

"Um, no he told her the truth and she left him cold. That is not ok." Mike folded his arms and directed his full attention at Mercedes.

"Yeah, well what choice did she have after what he did to her?" Mercedes raised her voice a bit and glared at her partner.

"Plenty." Mike raised his voice right back. "She could have stood by him instead of being selfish."

Neither of them paid attention to the very pissed off librarian headed their way.

"Unbelievable! You are such a guy. What do you even know about it anyway?" Mercedes was working herself into full on diva mode.

"Hey, Puck is my boy. I asked and he talked." Mike slapped the table.

"So, he's talking smack about Rachel?" Now Mercedes was on her feet and bellowing.

"No. He just told me what happened. And I just know how Rachel can be…" Mike yelled right back at her.

The librarian was rushing towards them making distressed shushing noised.

"Oh, you are so out of line! I can not work with you." Mercedes lunged towards Mike.

"Good! I can't work with you either! You are so closed minded I'm surprised that your brain hasn't died from lack of oxygen." He was up in her face.

"Dumb jock!"

"Stuck up diva!"

"That is it!" And indignant voice cut through their argument. "You are both permanently banned from the library. I don't want to see either of you in here ever again!"

Mike and Mercedes both turned their heads and looked at the irate librarian.

"But…"

"That's not really fair…"

"Would the two of you like detention on top of banishment? I could easily arrange for that as well." The librarian looked from one to the other with raised eyebrows.

"No ma'am" Mike muttered grabbing his bag.

"Sorry," Mercedes gathered her things as well and they both exited the library as quickly as they could.

* * *

"Ok, Mamma are you ready to talk glee?" Kurt crossed his legs primly and examined his cuticles.

"I think so." Quinn leaned back in her chair and gave a contented sigh. "That supreme pizza was total brain food."

Kurt wrinkled his nose in distaste at the last congealed slice of pizza. "Let's hope so. Thoughts on our duet?"

"So…. I was wondering," Quinn stopped to clear her throat. "Would you help me out?"

"With?" Kurt arched one of his impeccably groomed brows in question.

"I was kind of hoping to get paired with Finn for this, so that we could work things out, but since I'm not…" Quinn trailed off looking at Kurt to see how he was reacting to her request.

"You want me to help you with a song that's going to get him back," Kurt stated in flat disbelief.

"Well, yes." Not really the response she'd been hoping to get, but Quinn wasn't about to give up now.

"Unbelievable." Kurt shook his head

"Excuse me." It was Quinn's turn to arch and eyebrow, and she was no slouch in brow grooming either.

"After all of this you're still that selfish." Kurt kept shaking his head, hoping that he had misheard or was hallucinating the whole conversation.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I hurt Finn the most with this and I just want to make it up to him." Quinn was starting to get angry now. This was _not_ how she pictured this conversation going.

"I think that the person who you hurt the most was Puck." Kurt leaned forward and looked Quinn dead in the eyes. "I don't see you trying to make anything up to him."

"Ok, I think that you need a reality check." Quinn waved Kurt's words away. "Puck is fine."

"Puck is not fine. After all you've done to him I think that you'd at least want to let him have some say in your pregnancy and your daughter's future. Instead you're plotting to get back together with Finn? And if you think for one moment that I'm going to help you get your claws back into that helpless idiot, you can think again." Kurt folded his arms across his chest and glared.

"This is really none of your business." Quinn's lips set themselves into a thin line.

"It is my business. Puck is my friend." Kurt stood and gathered his jacket and bag. "I hope you don't mind calling your mom for a ride home. I suddenly remembered a pressing errand that I have far away from you." Without a backward glance, Kurt strode from the pizza parlor, leaving a shocked Quinn behind him.

* * *

"Unbelievable." Matt slammed his locker closed. He was back to get his school books and give Britt a ride home after his meeting with Finn.

"I know right? This is worst assignment ever." Brittany huffed out as she leaned against the locker next to Matt's.

"Finn is such a jerk. He actually said that Puck, Quinn and Rachel need to pay for the pain that they are putting him through." Matt was still torn between anger and disbelief at the tirade that Finn had gone into in the middle of Burger King.

"And this is the guy that Artie thinks deserved our sympathy!" Brittany was shaking her head in disbelief.

"Are you serious?" Matt couldn't believe that Artie could possibly take Finn's side in this whole mess. There was one clearly injured party, and Finn was _so_ not it.

"Yeah. It's obvious that Quinn is the one that really needs us." Brittany rolled her eyes. "Duh!"

"Uh, no I think you mean Rachel." Matt scrunched his eyebrows together.

"No, Quinn." The blonde Cheerio swung around to face him.

"Ok, Britt have you been sniffing glue again?" Matt asked gently. It really would explain a lot of things.

"Hey that was just that one time." Brittany's eyes flashed in anger. "And the one other time."

"If you really think that Quinn is a sympathetic figure that you are really high." Matt shot back at her.

"Matt, you're just as much of a jerk as Finn!" She balled her hand up into a tiny fist and punched Matt in the shoulder. "I don't think I need a ride home after all." Brittany whipped her head around and flounced down the hallway.

"Ow. Stupid pointy little girl knuckles," Matt muttered as he rubbed his shoulder. "Worst assignment ever. Thanks a lot Mr. Schue."

* * *

Puck whipped his truck into the driveway and slammed on the breaks. He still felt numb from his fight with Rachel, so it was probably the best time to do this. Anything that Quinn said to him wouldn't have much effect if he couldn't feel anything. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed before he could change his mind.

"Quinn, we need to talk."

"I really don't want to talk right now." He heard a slight sniffle and wondered if she had been crying. He squashed any traitorous feelings of sympathy he might be feeling. Now was not the time to weaken.

"Well tough. I've been letting this slide because you told everyone the truth and I thought I'd give you a few days to cope, but we need to get things settled."

"What things?" Quinn let out a weary sigh.

"I want to be a part of my daughter's life." _Duh_, he mentally added.

"No." Puck had to sit for a second to make sure he had heard her right.

"NO?" He barely recognized the voice coming from his throat. He really thought things might be different this time.

"That's what I said. Puck, you are not really father material. And I'm not really mother material. We're both too young. I'm going to give her up." Quinn sighed.

"Like HELL you are," She was so not giving his baby girl to strangers. Fuck that.

"Please," he could hear the trademark snotty, arrogance creep back into Quinn's voice. "I may want to give the baby up, but that doesn't mean I don't want what's best for her. Having you for a father isn't going to give her leg up in life. Give it up Puck. It's my body and my decision."

"This is bullshit. This discussion is not over!"

Puck disconnected the call and felt rage filling his chest. He hadn't been this angry since his dad left and he had drunk his way to alcohol poisoning. He'd become Puck after that and Puck had saved his life and his sanity. Maybe it was time to let him back out to play. Throwing his truck into reverse, he backed out of the driveway, a dangerous smile on his face. It was time to find the nearest geek and wreak some havoc.


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N: So, three years. Yeah. There's no excuse for that. I have plenty: my computer died taking this entire story out with it, RIB ruined my Puckleberry dreams (along with most of my other ships on this show), I've gone back to school, yadda, yadda, yadda. Anyway, I'm back because I made a promise to one of my reviewers that I wouldn't let this story die. So I won't. Even if she's the only one to ever read this again. I also apologize in advance if the story had changed. I'll try to make the transition as smooth as possible, but my writing style has changed a bit since last I've visited this story. **_

**Ch. 13**

**But nothing's greater than the rush that comes with your embrace**

It had been a long winter break. Rachel had shut herself off from everyone but her dads and tried to develop a plan of action for getting over Puck and getting her life back on track. It hadn't taken much to avoid everyone since they all seemed to have their own drama going on. Kurt and Mercedes had been the most persistent, but after two weeks of unreturned phone calls and texts, they had finally gotten the message and left her alone.

She felt bad avoiding her friends, but she really couldn't talk about Quinn, Finn, and especially Puck any longer. She was tired of crying and hurting. Her dad's were frantic about her emotional upheaval. They had offered to take her out of Lima for break anywhere she wanted to go – New York, Paris, Australia. They had offered to send her to private school so she'd never have to see Puck again. They even offered to relocate the whole family permanently if it would help. This last suggestion had finally made her laugh for the first time in a long time.

With the laugh had come a new determination to put this whole mess behind her. She was smart and talented and unexpectedly had more friends than she ever dreamed she would have. She had even had her first love. True, that love had broken her heart, but she would channel that pain into her art and use it. No need to dwell on things anymore. She would become stronger and better for the experience.

There only seemed to be one problem with the plan: she was going crazy. That was the only explanation she could come up with because only a crazy person would still love and long for a person who had broken their heart into a million pieces. Only that same crazy person would have to resort to throwing their own cell phone onto a shelf so high that it required a step ladder to reach just to keep from calling said heartbreaker. And only a crazy person would wake from dreams of her lost love, filled with indescribable desire and heartbreak when she realized that she was alone.

So, yes she was crazy. And she was still angry with him. She wasn't upset that he was the father of Quinn's baby: that had happened before they had even become friends. She wasn't angry that he had kept it a secret: he'd been scared and had that hideous threat of Quinn's hanging over his head. No, she was angry at the way he had told her. She had just realized that she'd been in love with him the whole time. She could feel happiness welling up inside of her until she thought she'd burst with it. Then when she'd tried to tell him, he'd stopped her.

He knew what she was about to say – she'd seen it in his face. Instead of dealing with it like a man, he'd shut her up in the most hurtful way possible. Had he stopped loving her and used it as a way out? Why hadn't he told her differently? Was he trying to hurt her?

And then there was that ill-fated duet that Mr. Schuester had assigned to them. It had been a disaster. She was still hurting, and refusing to acknowledge that hurt. The only thing carrying her through the days was a return to her former know-it-all personality. She slid it back into place like a protective shield, so that she could lick her wounds in private. It was something she'd done for years. And he wouldn't stop pushing her. So she'd snapped and said horrible and hurtful things to him. She hadn't meant to, but in retrospect maybe it was for the best. He'd left her alone after that. Just the way she wanted. But now she couldn't stop longing for him. It made her start counting down the days until winter break.

And now here she was: crazy, lonely, and no closer to getting over Puck the she had been two weeks ago. Rachel fell back onto her bed and screamed into a pillow. Maybe relocating the whole family wasn't such a bad idea after all.

* * *

Will Schuester looked around the choir room smiling the biggest fake smile he could muster. Winter break was over and classes had just resumed today. Before break he saw his Glee club falling apart at the seams. His students had openly been at war, polarized between their support of Puck, Quinn, Rachel or Finn.

Thankfully, most of that tension seemed to have dissipated over winter break. It was still far from a calm atmosphere, however. Finn was spending most of his time glaring at Quinn, Puck and Rachel. Quinn was sitting off in a corner looking miserable. Puck and Rachel still weren't speaking. And Puck had inexplicably entered the choir room with the bad boy smirk and swagger that had been a permanent part of him before this year. Will, frowned. He didn't like the looks of that at all.

There also seemed to be issues between Santana and Tina, and Kurt and Quinn. Most worrisome and unexpected though, was the strained relationship between Kurt and Mercedes. These two were the most level-headed, and upbeat members of the club. They enjoyed the drama that often played out around them, but were rarely involved in any themselves. Will wondered what had happened to cause a rift between the best friends.

Rousing himself from the depressing thoughts Will cleared his throat, "Welcome back from break everyone! I hope you had some time to rest and recharge your batteries," he paused to see if he would get any sort of response, and wasn't exactly shocked when he received none. He chuckled nervously and forged ahead. "So, since we never did get those duet performances before break, why don't we start off with that now?"

Again the only response Will got was the chirping of the imaginary crickets in his brain. He felt stone stupid; why would he bring up those duets? After he had assigned them was when the tension in the choir room had gone from palpable to unbearable. "Um, anyone?" He planned on waiting beat to save face, then dropping the subject and moving onto a new assignment. "Okay, then," Will didn't get any further before he was interrupted by a soft voice.

"Actually, Santana and I will go." Tina looked up from where she had been picking the black polish off her nails. He saw Santana scoff and roll her eyes from her position next to Artie.

"Are you still on this? Why didn't you take the opportunity to suffocate in a snow bank over break?" Santana narrowed her eyes and glared in Tina's direction.

Tina appeared unaffected by the other girl's vitriol. Instead she narrowed her eyes and spat back, "What's wrong Forrest Gimp? Afraid of what might happen?"

"If I were you I'd be the one afraid, Corpse Bride," Santana snarled.

"Girls, stop!" Will held his hands up and raised his voice. "Either sing your duet or quiet down. We don't have time for this."

"Fine." Santana began wheeling herself towards the middle of the room, fire still in her eyes.

"Sounds great to me," Tina stomped past the other girl and turned to face the class. "We'll be performing _'In His Eyes'_ from the musical _Jekyll and Hyde_," Tina announced without the slightest hint of a stutter in her voice. "May the best woman win," she glared at Santana.

Santana glared back for a moment, before both girls directed their attention towards Artie. Artie's eyes widened, darting between the two girls in alarm.

Will felt like he had lost complete control of his class, as the music started. He watched the two girls face off against each other. They were both powerhouse vocalists, but the combination of the two of them together was giving him chills. The only problem was that they had decided to use this haunting duet as a battle field, and apparently Artie was the prize.

Well, not much he could do now but let them finish. _Too bad I didn't decide to become an accountant like Terri wanted_, he thought with a sigh.

* * *

"Tina!" Artie wheeled his chair down the hall towards his target as rapidly as he could. After Glee was over, she had practically sprinted out of the room and there was no way he was letting her get away.

Tina looked over her shoulder, slowing her steps when she saw it was Artie calling after her. She smiled tentatively at him when he finally caught up with her.

"What was that?" Artie wasn't beating around the bush. He wanted answers and he wanted them now.

"What do you mean?" Tina furrowed her brow, but she wasn't stupid. This already wasn't going as she had hoped it would, and she needed to buy some time to plan her next step.

"What was that with Santana just now? The duet? 'May the best woman win'?" Artie knew Tina well enough to know that she was stalling. Well, he didn't have time for that, so he was calling her bluff.

"Artie come on, you have to know," Tina wrapped a strand of her blue-tipped hair around her finger and bit her lip.

"You'll have to explain it to me, cause I feel like I just took a walk through a worm hole and ended up in that dimension with no shrimp."

"No shrimp?" Tina's confusion was genuine this time. "What?"

"Buffy? When…you know what? Not important. Never mind, just explain."

"I thought it was obvious," Tina decided to be straight up with her feelings. She'd spent too much time playing games and avoiding the truth. That hadn't gotten her anything but a ticket to break-upville. "We belong together and we should have gotten back together by now, except Santana got in the way. I just wanted to let you know that I'm not done fighting for us."

"Tina, stop. We are done. I'm with Santana now. That's the end of the story."

"How can that be? We are meant to be," Tina was getting desperate now. She had spent hours imagining the different outcomes from the duet, and this had never been a situation she had considered. "All you and Santana have in common is that stupid chair!"

"Aw, hell to the no! We broke up, Tina! You lied to me about stuttering! We aren't meant to be anything," Artie took a deep breath to calm down a little before continuing more gently. "I want Santana, not you. You need to deal with it. We're done here. The best woman did win."

Artie turned and wheeled away from her, and Tina felt as stunned as if he had slapped her in the face. She felt tears gather behind her eyelids as she turned, running blindly down the hall.

* * *

Matt was furious. He had spent his entire winter break with Tina trying to make her understand that he was a man, and he wanted her. He thought he was making some progress, that maybe there was some hope for them. Then she had pulled that stunt in Glee.

Well, forget her. He was done. There was no way he was wasting his time on someone who clearly didn't care about him. _Time to cut your losses, loser_. This was what he was telling himself when he saw her running down the hall in tears. Before he could tell himself to grow a pair, his heart softened and he reached out to intercept her.

"T, what's wrong? What happened?" He pulled her gently towards him.

"Artie…" was all Tina could get out before she collapsed against his chest sobbing.

_Of course_. Matt felt a sharp stab of pain to his already bruised heart.

"I told him that the song today was so that he would realize that we were meant to be together. But he said, he said…" Tina's words were list in hiccuping sobs again.

White hot anger shot through Matt. He was **done**. It was put up or shut up time. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I know what he told you. He's with Santana. He doesn't want you. Give it up." His voice was clipped and sarcastic.

"Matt," Tina gasped. He'd never spoken to her in that tone of voice before. Matt had always been so sweet and comforting. She'd never seen _this _Matt before. He was angry and bitter. And kind of sexy, if she were being honest with herself.

"What is it going to take for you to see?" Matt gave her a little shake. "I want you. You are my woman and I should be your man. I'm done playing games." He pulled her roughly to him and kissed her with six months of pent of feelings. She gasped and trembled under his assault. Then he abruptly pulled away, leaving her breathless and glassy eyed.

"You think about _that_ when you're crying about wanting Artie back. Let me know when you're ready for us to be together. Until then, I don't have the time." With that Matt turned and walked away without a backwards glance.

* * *

Mercedes was sitting on her couch watching _Dreamgirls_ again for the 40th time. The problem was she was watching it alone. Kurt had met someone and she was now the third wheel. She'd never realized how lonely it could be, since she'd always had her partner in crime by her side. They had talked gossip and planned interventions for the hot messes that were their friend's love lives; but never had to deal with these things themselves.

There were really good reasons for this. Kurt was gay. In a town like Lima, it seriously limited his choices. As far as Mercedes knew, there were no other gay men in town. If there were, they certainly weren't out about it. The other part of the equation was that Mercedes was a curvy black woman. Again that really limited opportunities. It wasn't like hers was the only black family in town; far from it. But the guys in town seemed to think that was a detriment rather than an asset; guys, black and white alike, preferred skinny girls.

So, she and Kurt were both alone. It had stung, but they had had each other. They were besties, bitching partners, and each other's defacto dates when such a date was a necessity. They kept each other company when the others were getting their romance on. And they'd dreamed of the day they could get out of small town Lima to a big city full of men who could appreciate their charms.

Then came the catastrophe; well, maybe not a catastrophe, per se, but more a turning point in their relationship. She and Kurt had decided to do some spying. New Directions had managed to win sectionals, despite all the drama they had going on in their little group. Mr. Schuester had told them that they would be going up against The Jane Adams Academy and the Dalton Warblers at Regionals. It was only natural to want to size up the competition. Since Rachel was avoiding them and Tina had her own issues, they decided to do a little covert ops on their own.

They could only do online research about Jane Adams' – there was no sneaking onto that campus; security was too tight. Dalton was a different matter, though. It had been easy enough to slip onto campus and see an impromptu rehearsal by the Warblers. They were good. Really good. Then, the lead singer of the Warblers had seen them and introduced himself.

Kurt had instantly become smitten with handsome Blaine Anderson. Mercedes could see why: Blaine was not only handsome he was also smart, talented, charming, and openly gay. The three of them had gone out for coffee at the Lima Bean. During the course of the conversation, Mercedes felt like she had turned invisible. She checked to make sure she didn't have and invisibility cloak on, but then she had to remind herself that she hadn't suddenly wandered into _Harry Potter_. She was just seeing her best friend fall in love for the first time.

Over the next few weeks, Kurt spent more and more time with Blaine and less and less time with her. She was happy for him. She was. But it still hurt. When she expressed her feelings to Kurt, he told her that she was jealous and they needed to find her a boyfriend. As if it was just that easy for her. They didn't talk for a week after that fight. They had eventually made up, but things were still different. Every one of her friends had someone, or was dealing with the fallout from their ex someone. Everyone but her.

When would it be her turn? When did she get to be more than the sassy side kick, the girl with the pretty face who would be a knockout if she 'just lost a few pounds'? When would she get to know what it felt like to be loved and desired? She sincerely hoped that she didn't have to wait for graduation and moving to a big city for that to happen. Since she'd be by herself now, and it would be a long and lonely wait.


End file.
